As we’re now well into March, you may well find yourself looking at your child’s school uniform and nursery wardrobe. Six months into the academic year, many children have gone up a size, outgrown (or outworn!) their shoes, or are in need of new kit ready for warmer weather. In this post we’ll walk you through our top tips for ensuring your children are ready for warmer weather, and in appropriate sizing! Think of it as a wardrobe audit!
Sizing
The first thing to consider when deciding if you need to get searching for new clothing is size. For many children, six months is more than enough time to have had a growth spurt - or to have gone up a shoe size.
Take a look at how your child’s school uniform fits, especially around the arms and ankles. You may find that items still just about fit - but are unlikely to for much longer. If this is the case, now is the time to size up. You may find, even, that this removes the need for a frantic summer holiday repurchase, when items are likely to be lower in stock and harder to come by.
When it comes to shoes, it’s also key to check foot size. This may need a visit to a local shoe shop, or alternatively, buy a home shoe sizer like this one from Clarks. If there is only the tiniest amount of wiggle room, now is your time to go and repurchase. Again, if you get a shoe with plenty of room, you may find this saves you the effort come August!
Signs of wear and tear
An easy one to forget about, Spring is a great time to take stock of your child’s clothes and see if anything needs replacing or mending.
Trouser knees, jumper elbows and the toe and heels of shoes get a lot of love and wear in children’s early school years - so consider if they need mending or replacing! Many shoe scuffs can be sorted with the right polish, while holes and bobbling can be solved with a debobbler and needle and thread. Extensive holes and fully worn through items, though, are likely to need a full replacement, as they’re only going to get worse (sorry!).
Warmer weather wear
Finally, it’s time to consider if your children’s clothes are suitable for warmer weather. This is something to watch out for in particular if this is your first year of having children in school - warmer weather uniform is a thing!
Shorts, school dresses, skirts and thinner tights might all be needed come Summer to replace trousers, thick tights and pinnafores, and can often be in short supply once weather gets very hot and parents rush to their local supermarket. If you don’t have these items already, now is the time to stock up on warmer weather clothing. While Spring can still be chilly, it can also get surprisingly warm, so don’t get caught out. PE kits are also something to look at - where jumpers and joggers need replacing with shorts and t-shirts, if you don’t already have them.
The same goes for shoes, where thick boots might not be suitable anymore. Equally nursery children might need to swap wellies for crocs, and thick all in ones for thin.
Label up!
We’d be remiss not to mention, of course, that all this new (or new to you) clothing needs a label. The good thing about prepping warmer weather clothing early on is that you’ll have plenty of time to label and organise, to be ready for your children when things warm up! You know where to go for that!
