babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Plus-Sized Clothing for Toddlers?
Plus-sized clothing for children is nothing new. Even when I was a young girl back in the 1970′s, larger sizes for bigger kids could be found in their own special section of most department stores. They called them ‘husky’ and the selection was quite limited. A husky boy could choose from a few different pants and shirts and a big girl might find a dress or two in her size.
Things have changed. These days, the selection of plus-sized children’s clothing has grown to the point that in many stores, it equals the offering of standard-sized clothing. And now, these expanded sizes aren’t just available for school-aged kids. In the UK, a large retail store recently began selling an entire line of plus-sized clothing for kids as young as three. That’s right, plus-sized clothing for toddlers.
Marks and Spencer, which appears to be similar to an American Target store, calls these larger sizes ‘plus-fit’ because they are a little more generous with the fabric than standard sizes. With nearly two and a half extra inches around the waist and hips, an overweight toddler can comfortably sit on the couch and munch chips without any binding or pinching.
Of course, nobody is saying that overweight toddlers shouldn’t have cute clothes. But according to Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum in the UK, the availability of what amounts to fat clothes for toddlers is an indication that the childhood obesity problem has reached tragic proportions.
“This about middle-class children being overindulged and carried everywhere in 4×4 cars, not to mention a generation of parents who haven’t been taught domestic science, and don’t know how to feed their children a healthy meal at the end of the day.”
In the past, a parent of a larger-than-average 3-year-old might need to buy a bigger size and hem the pants or alter the sleeves. But by making available what amounts to fat clothes for toddlers, are we not conceding defeat in the war against childhood obesity and normalizing what used to be the exception?
Image: phil denton/Flickr
More from this author:
Breaking the Binky Habit: When and Why
Sign Language for Babies More Popular Than Ever
Nap Nanny Recalled After Baby’s Death
Twilight Teeth: Freaky or Fab?
Forever 21 Marketing Maternity Wear to Teens?
Christmas in July: Are You Ready?
Is Ghetto Parenting Offensive?
When Good Parents Have Bad Kids
Contact Lenses Give Teens Lady Gaga Eyes
Should We Tell Our Daughters They’re Pretty?
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
[...] Plus-Sized Clothing For Toddlers [...]
Penelope Cruz Takes Aim at Teen Magazines | Strollerderby commented on Jul 27 10 at 7:32 pm[...] this week, I wrote about a retail store in the UK that recently introduced a line of plus-sized clothing for kids as young as three. In describing this larger toddler attire, I used various adjectives including [...]
Is Fat a Bad Word? | Strollerderby commented on Jul 29 10 at 12:01 pmM commented on Jul 27 10 at 12:31 pm“an overweight toddler can comfortably sit on the couch and munch chips”
I have a hard time taking the underlying argument seriously when it’s spiced up with snarky lines like this one, about little kids no less.
baconsmom commented on Jul 27 10 at 1:51 pmWhen you strip away the ridiculous rhetoric about fat people, I can’t help but see this as a good thing. I, personally, have seen a dearth of any sizes other than “regular” at any store I shop at for my child, and it’s irritating, because NOT ALL CHILDREN ARE SHAPED THE SAME. My daughter happens to be tall and thin, and I can’t find tall, slim sizes, so I end up taking in a lot of waists. Likewise, I imagine that people with rounder children – regardless of why they are rounder – would appreciate not having to take up so many hems.
It seems like everything else in life is customizable – why not our children’s clothing?
(And for the record? I’ve never seen a “plus” kids’ section. Ever.)
jenny tries too hard commented on Jul 27 10 at 2:23 pmI can barely do a hem at all…and I have no idea how to take in a waist, so I don’t know what I would do for my skinny-bones boys without the adjustable waistbands in their jeans. My solution to my (perfectly normal-sized and healthy) five-year-old’s “bubble butt dilemma” has so far involved lots and lots of leggings with dresses and long tops over them because she simply doesn’t fit into girls’ jeans unless they’re way too long…or unless we want to put up with butt-crack cleavage. No thanks.
Also, has anyone noticed how small girls’ jeans are cut, relative to boys jeans in the same size? Maybe if the clothes weren’t cut to fit so close to begin with, we wouldn’t need “plus” sizes for toddlers? After all, I have the same bubble-butt issues as my older daughter, and remember having them as far back as kindergarten, but I didn’t husky sizes and I *know* my mother didn’t sew. I also know for a fact that a t-shirt used to mean something that fit a lot looser than its expected to, now…they used to be so long you were expected to tuck them in, on girls, too! Now, you’re lucky if what’s labeled a t-shirt even meets the waist, it seems.
Another weird thought…how much does the changing shape of the US and UK’s children have to do with the changing color of the children in these two countries?
JZ commented on Jul 27 10 at 4:22 pmI dont see the harm. Are parents going to start feeding their kids healthy just because they cant find larger clothes for their bigger than normal sized kids? No. Why should an overweight child, who might get made fun of for being overweight, have to wear ugly clothes that dont fit right and add fuel to the bulliers fire.
Also isnt it rude/mean to call people, espiclly children, fat?
diera commented on Jul 28 10 at 12:29 am“Of course, nobody is saying that overweight toddlers shouldn’t have cute clothes.”
Well, except kind of you, because you go on to say:
“But by making available what amounts to fat clothes for toddlers, are we not conceding defeat in the war against childhood obesity and normalizing what used to be the exception?”
You can’t have it both ways. Either it’s okay for fat little kids to have cute clothes, or it’s ‘conceding defeat’. Look, it’s not great that so many people in our society have problems with obesity (including me!) but trust me, NO ONE IS DOING IT FOR THE CLOTHES. Not me, not fat toddlers, and not their parents. While we figure out how to solve the problem, I think it’s really OK if those of us who have it are allowed to wear something that fits.
MM commented on Jul 28 10 at 12:20 pmI remember there being “husky” and “slim” sizes when I was a child … what’s the difference?
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0