Have You Got All The Clothing Your Toddler Needs?

It’s a great feeling having a new child in your life. Their growth brings about joy and love in their parents. Not everything about having children is rosy. Their clothes for example can be quite painful. Children are constantly growing, meaning that their clothing isn’t going to last before it becomes too small. In fact, this can be one of the major budgetary issues for parents. Toddlers can be some of the most troublesome. It can be difficult to know just how much clothing you need for your toddler and what items are necessary. Clothing for a newborn can be fairly easy, and you’ll probably get a lot of gifts from people happy that you had a child. Things really expand and become more complicated with a toddler. 

Items Needed

The amount of clothing that you will need for your toddler is going to vary on a bunch of different factors. First off, every child is different. Some love to be dirty and find a way to get dirty every time you look around. Others are relatively clean. Your budget will of course be an important factor, as will owning a washing machine. Many people still make use of laundromats. That can be a hassle, so it’s possible that more clothing will be beneficial for toddlers in those instances. An often overlooked need is the storage it will take. The good news is that for toddlers, clothing storage is often not that big of a problem since the clothing itself is quite small. A typical toddler wardrobe should include: 

• Shirts - Obviously these are important. A good mix of short and long sleeve shirts helps. Normally somewhere between 5 and 10 shirts is a good number for toddlers since they make the most mess on their shirts. 
• Pants - Pants tend to be more durable and get stained less than shirts, meaning you don’t need quite as many. Somewhere between 3 to 6 pairs at a given time should be enough. 
• Underwear - This is a flexible need based on where your toddler is with potty training.
• Socks - About five pairs of socks is often enough. One of the best choices is to get socks that are the same. Socks will get lost. It just happens with toddlers. If all five pairs are the same at a given stage, then losing a few won’t matter as they match the rest anyway. 
• Shoes - This can be one of the biggest issues. Toddler feet seem possessed to grow two sizes in a weekend before stopping for a while. It doesn’t hurt to have two or even three pairs of shoes. One of them should be a bit large. This pair is ready for the inevitable growth spurt. 
• Fancy Clothing - Toddlers should always have one outfit that fits more formal events. This can be described as “church clothes” by many people. If they may need to do several events, a second outfit doesn’t hurt. 

Primary Toddler Clothing Shopping

When you’re out shopping, make sure that the clothing you’re purchasing finds that happy mix of durability and lower costs. This can be tricky considering most stores tend to focus on one or another. There are some good choices for toddler clothing however. TJ Maxx can have some excellent toddler clothing and lets you try out some different objects. If you can’t find what you want there, then Target is of course a reliable option for some simple toddler clothing. These tend toward bold colors that stand out. Of course, that’s what a lot of toddler clothing is too! 

Secondhand Shopping

One of the best options if you are struggling with the budgetary aspects of toddler’s clothing is to look into secondhand shopping. Many people will keep their clothing safely stored on the chance they may have more children. Some people can end up privately selling toddler’s clothing. Others may end up donating it to secondhand stores where they become available for purchase. 

These second hand purchases of toddler clothing can be incredibly useful. It’s also helpful if you purchase from a secondhand store to consider donating clothes that your toddler grows out of that haven’t been stained or damaged. Once you’ve benefitted, why not allow others to benefit in the same way?