When you buy clothing for TWO children...

[BikeBookBread]

This poll is for parents of TWO children only...

 

I'd like to know your buying strategy:

 

Do you buy clothing solely with the purpose of handing down to the second and NOT buying anything (or hardly anything) specifically for the second?

 

...or...

 

Do you buy new for both your first and second?

 

...or...

 

Do you do something else?

 

I have a feeling this could be gender specific, because boys are much harder on clothing that most girls.

[kewb]

I have a boy and a girl. They each get new clothes as needed. I do make my dd wear snow pants and boots that ds has outgrown.

[Mrs Mungo]

This poll is for parents of TWO children only...

 

I'd like to know your buying strategy:

 

Do you buy clothing solely with the purpose of handing down to the second and NOT buying anything (or hardly anything) specifically for the second?

 

...or...

 

Do you buy new for both your first and second?

 

...or...

 

Do you do something else?

 

I have a feeling this could be gender specific, because boys are much harder on clothing that most girls.

 

I have 3 kids but my oldest 2 are girls. My oldest is quite a bit taller than my middle, which makes it tricky. Some stuff is handed down but my middle actually looooooves clothes, so we buy quite a bit of new stuff for her as well.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I have a boy and a girl. They each get new clothes as needed. I do make my dd wear snow pants and boots that ds has outgrown.

 

 

Same here. With a girl, and then a boy, virtually nothing gets passed down. There was a pair of black jeans, once, and some socks, but that's it.

 

I do have another girl (4yo), but she's 9 years younger than her sister. We weren't expecting another child, so I don't have anything smaller than size 10 for her. It'll be years before she can wear them. I buy new for her, too.

 

ETA: For the most part, I buy clothes a half year ahead of time. I buy clothes that are on clearance, at the size they will be the following year. Very seldom have I ever paid full price for anything. This gets more difficult as they get older though. It's harder to tell what size they're going to be wearing next year. I still don't have any hand-me-downs within our family, though I love to receive them from other families, and I always pass our outgrown stuff on to others. I don't think my brother has had to buy a stitch of clothing for my nephew, who gets all my son's hand-me-downs.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Suzanne in ABQ

[Crissy]

I buy new for each boy as it is needed.

My guys are five years apart in age and I don't have the space or the desire to hang on to clothing that doesn't fit anyone.

[TravelingChris]

MOre used to get passed down. Now hardly anything since often they wear the same size. They are 2.5 inches different in height and weigh almost the same. They both wear small sized adult clothes although the younger one tends to wear petite size and the older is too tall.

[Jen500]

I save some items from my older boys for my youngest, and buy new for things that the olders wear out (holes in knees, faded and worn) and things that just don't last in storage (elastic waisted items).

[BikeBookBread]

If I could amend the poll, I would add, ESPECIALLY IF you have two children of the same gender...

 

:)

[ElizabethB]

I have a boy and a girl, but I generally buy unisex color boots and jackets to pass down, also some shorts if I can find some that aren't too girly, and an occasional unisex type shirt gets passed down.

 

I used to get hand me downs for my son from cousins when we lived closer to them.

[Perry]

My girls are 2 1/2 years apart. I have a big rubbermaid box that I toss all of older dd's clothes in when she grows out of them. When seasons change and younger dd needs new clothes, I have her go through the box and pick out what she wants to keep, and then we go shopping for whatever she needs that she didn't get from the box. I don't expect her to want to keep everything, and she gets plenty of new things.

[forty-two]

I answered "other", b/c while in theory I buy new for each as needed, my 2nd hasn't needed much of anything b/c of hand-me-downs (from her sister and from someone at church). In fact, I'm not sure I've bought *anything* new for my 1yo, though she has plenty of new stuff from grandparents. (Actually, I've only had to buy a handful of things for my 3.5yo, b/c of grandparent generosity :)).

[MariannNOVA]

I buy for two girls and one boy so I will answer for the girls:

 

I buy new for each one as needed. DD11 is an average sized 11 year old - - now that I have bought her new clothes for spring and summer, I know what size she is. DD9.5 is petite as petite can be. She is still wearing 5s in some things and I wouldn't try anything larger than a 6x on her - it would fall off her -- some 6s still do.

 

When they were much younger I bought for older dd assuming that younger dd would be a year behind in size - I learned that was not the case. Now, I buy new for both.

 

I will add, though, that now when I buy for the girls, I buy with the fact that our hand me downs go to my oldest dd who has two daughters - ages 6.5 and 4. Things now go right from my dd9.5 to my grand-daughter 6.5 -- I am always putting clothes in boxes and sending them to NJ.

 

I do buy SPECIAL OCCASION things and outerwear with the definite purpose in mind that they will be gently worn and used again....so I will splurge on those items. To be honest, though, I do not skimp on clothing - I like quality items, boutique-y items, designer labels for some things (i.e., special occasion items and other stuff), and I love finding these items. I buy stuff from Target and Kohl's for backyard play. Everything else comes from Gymboree, Nordstrom's, Lord and Taylor, Naartjie, specialty shops around here, Adorables (specialty on line shop), and other places. I shop ebay, catalogs, and places for labels like Jottum, Biscotti, Monsoon, Indygo, Boden, Mim Pi, Little Mass, Monkeywear, and a host of other names that escape me at the moment.

[BeeBop]

I have a boy and girl so I buy new for each as needed. But I take hand-me-downs from my 2 year old niece, and my sister takes my son's clothes for her boy.

[Closeacademy]

2 girls here. I buy used and hand it down.

 

I recieve hand-me-downs and buy mostly used and buy new as fillers for my oldest with plans to hand everything down and only have to buy a few fillers for my youngest.

 

Yes, I get away with paying very little for their clothing. They always have fun and different to wear.

 

They don't always like the same things too so some of the hand-me-downs to my oldest are things we leave in the box until my youngest is ready for them. :001_smile:

[secular_mom]

I have four DC, but my two youngest are the same gender and close in age. I buy new for both of them at times, and I hand down the older dd's clothes that are in good shape. That keeps me from 'needing' to buy clothes for both at the same time, which is a big help when the budget gets tight. So, it's not 'either or', it's both.

[athena1277]

I have a girl and a boy. All the gender neutral baby clothes were passed down, but ds did get quite a few new things (mostly gifts). As he has gotten older he occasionally has worn neutral jeans and T-shirts. I think that once he outgrows a 4T that wont be an option much anymore.

[Alenee]

I have three girls but one has sensory issues especially with clothing so we pass down what we can and buy new for the rest. A lot of the clothing is no good by the time it gets to the youngest so all the girls typically get some new stuff. It would be nice if they all had the same body type and no issues with materials but that would be in a perfect world and well...'nuff said!:)

[Lara in Colo]

I buy almost all the childrens clothes used at the MOMs (mothers of multiples) sale. I take one day in March, one day in August, shop for all of them, last month I spent 250.00 and got it all for summer -(45 dollars in shoes -ouch)

Then I hand down as will work, If I need more throughout the year, I go on small trips to get stuff (ie DD needed her first bra, DS out grew his underwear)

 

Lara

[Tap]

My oldest kids are Boy/girl here so no (or at least very little) passing down.

 

For my two girls, there are 8 years between their ages so I don't bother saving between them because the styles will be different. My oldest dd is very thin and my youngest is not, so they wear entirely different styles of clothing.

[RebeccaS]

I have 2 girls, then 2 boys. I buy new for oldest dd. What she doesn't destroy goes to second dd. It's mostly shirts, though. Oldest dd wears plus jeans and second dd doesn't.

 

I hand down clothes from youngest ds to older ds. lol! Younger ds is much bigger than his older brother. Anything, again, that doesn't get destroyed gets handed down.

 

The second dd or ds to get clothes may get a few things as needed.

[Crimson Wife]

The problem I'm finding is that my 2 girls wore the same size in different seasons so even though I saved a lot of clothes I'm still having to get new (or new "pre-owned") stuff. My oldest wore 6-9 mos in the summer and 12-18 mos in the winter. My youngest wore 6-9 mos in the winter and will be wearing 12-18 mos this summer. :glare:

[Mommee & Baba]

I have 2 girls and a boy. The boy has new as I have nothing to hand down to him. Besides socks that are white and onesies. Otherwise new for him. The girls share clothing as some outfits they can wear similar sizes in. Mostly new for my oldest and then hand down her outgrown clothing to my youngest dd. I have tons of clothing in my son's closet that is for him when he gets older that was handed down to us from a lovely church family.

[wulfbourne]

My two girls are close in age and the youngest seems to be growing fast enough I'm worried they'll both wear the same size in the not to distant future. For now the younger one gets mostly hand me downs. BUT, I do get her a couple cute outfits specifically for her, especially since some clothes get too stained the first go around (and I buy a good bit used to begin with)

[amsunshine]

I responded "other". I mostly buy new for #1 and hand down to #2. However, we do buy a few new things for #2, as needed.

[gingersmom]

I have a girl and a boy.

 

My daughter is tall and skinny. My son is tall and built like a football player. They have been wearing the same size (his husky, hers slim) for several years. They even have almost the same shoe size.

 

The only thing they have ever shared/handed down was black/navy snowpants and black/navy snow boots.

[Haiku]

I have three kids, but I am going to play anyway because the age gap between my oldest an middle child is 8 years, and the gap between my middle and youngest is less than a year, so my oldest doesn't factor into the equation of buying clothes for the younger two.

 

I don't buy new for either of my kids. I get hand-me-downs from friends or buy from thrift stores. We have a Goodwill outlet near my home where all children's clothing is 99 cents. I can outfit each of my kids for a season for about $20 each (not counting underwear and socks, which I do buy new for each child).

 

For big-ticket or specialty items, such as winter coats or snow pants, bathing suits, etc., I buy either from Lands End at their end-of-season, free shipping sales, or I find good deals on E-bay.

 

My son (who is younger but bigger) does hand down to my daughter, but usually just play-outside clothes because my dd wants her out-of-the-house clothes to be "pretty" and not boyish.

 

Tara

[Wheres Toto]

I have 3 but my oldest is so much older than the others that her old clothes aren't even in consideration for saving (she's 13 years older than her younger sister).

 

My younger two are a boy and a girl but we still hand down some things. Jeans, snow pants, jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks and pajamas are all handed down. Then we buy her some girly clothes - dresses, t-shirts, tights, nightgowns, leggings, etc.

 

In the toddler years, boy and girl jeans are about the same. I have no problem with my daughter wearing black, blue or gray sweatpants or boy-themed pajamas (she's as into Nemo and Cars as her brother is).

[bookfiend]

I have a boy and a girl, but I generally buy unisex color boots and jackets to pass down, also some shorts if I can find some that aren't too girly, and an occasional unisex type shirt gets passed down.

 

QUOTE]

 

I have a friend who did this with her boy and girl 2 years apart (boy older). She bought as much gender neutral clothing as possible, white, navy, red polo shirts, jean jackets. Fortunately the girls wasn't too particular about wanting extra girly things.

[Pippen]

I have two boys and was able to pass down very little due to different body builds, different seasons and one with unique sensory needs.

 

Snow boots and snow pants have been passed down and a few t-shirts, but that's about it.

[SilverMoon]

For the most part I make/buy for the specific kid that needs it.

 

Clothing going from boy to girl or vice versa doesn't really work in my house. *Some* tees from 6yo ds do go to 4yo dd, but I don't plan on it when making/buying tees for the 6yo. He's built too solid/wide to pass pants down to her (she can make slims look baggy).

 

Out of my five only the last two girls really share much clothing. In that case I do sometimes make something for the 4yo that I know the 2yo would also love. Those two are close enough in size that anything the 4yo has outgrown can go straight to the 2yo, and occasionally they just share some favorites they can both fit in. 9yo dd is so far away from them in size that I don't save anything but her nicest outfits or dresses.

 

If good basics survive the oldest boy with a decent amount of life left in them I will save them for little ds. Big ds is more skater punk, where little ds is more sporty, but stuff like jeans, sweats and most tees can always be used.

[Tess in the Burbs]

boy/girl here so nothing is passed down anymore. The boy usually rips holes or gets paint on things before it ever has a chance to be patched with flowers ;-)

 

So yes, they get mostly new clothes all the time. However, I shop kohls, target and clearance racks at name brand places. I am also learning that they only wear about 4 outfits regardless of how much is in the closet and am buying less each year. I would rather buy 4 more hardy outfits they love than 10 I have to nag them to wear :tongue_smilie:

[helena]

.

Edited April 13, 2010 by helena
Oops! Double post

[orangearrow]

Well, I do have 3 children, but the first two are girls. Child #3 gets all brand-new clothes, due to the fact that he's not crazy about wearing hand-me-down dresses or flowery tops. ;)

 

DD#2 gets all DD#1s hand me downs. I also buy her new clothes. So, her closet is usually stuffed to the brim to the point of ridiculousness. DD#1 has a much easier-to-manage clothing amount.

 

DH thinks it bothers DD#2 to wear hand-me-downs, but I'm under the impression that she likes them. I think it bothers DH. ;) She gets to pick her favorites and if there is something that Big Sister wore a LOT, then we just donate it instead. But, most of the clothes are like new and the girls have very similar tastes. If anything, I pick clothes out for DD#1 thinking about DD#2 instead of DD#1. :tongue_smilie:

[helena]

I have 2 girls, that have similar body types, and taste. As far as hand me downs go I have a pretty ideal situation. I try to buy good brands (well made) for my eldest (boden, gymboree, gap, etc.), and I sometimes go to garage sales where there's a little european kids dress shop, so it's not uncommon to find those clothes at yard sales.

 

My youngest doesn't mind hand me downs and her over flowing drawers are proof of that. :) But she does get a few seasonal pieces through the year, especially tee shirts. My little one also loves Naartjie I hit that place usually in spring with a coupon. They have great sales on basics.

 

I avoid almost every other children's store, I stick to what I know they like and wait for coupons and sales. I also try not to buy from places like Target, where the clothes don't hold up as well.

 

I also have a box in their closet where I keep everything that doesn't fit them. These clothes are from yard sales, hand me downs from friends, and clothes I bought but don't fit yet (sometimes I find a sale I can't pass up). We go through the box a few times a year. I also hem a few pants into shorts in the spring.

 

About twice a year we through the closet and drawers and bag up everything that's too small. I have a girlfriend who has two daughters younger than mine. Her girls wear them over the next few years. When her girls out grow them, she bags it all up and I give them to my cousin, who has a baby girl and is happy to have them.

 

I was raised to do laundry a certain way (sort colors, removing stains, hand wash delicates), and I'm an ironing fool. My girlfriend has a way of returning the clothes and shoes in practically new condition. So when I shop I feel good knowing that all us gals are making the most of what we have!

Edited April 13, 2010 by helena

[bookfiend]

Since we just flipped our closets, this is fresh on my mind also. I have finally settled into a process that I really like. DH and I got the whole thing done in one morning - a record!

 

What is our buying strategy? Well, first of all - Never pay retail! I buy clothes at Goodwill, Consignment, Garage Sales, end of season 80%off at department stores, and we receive some hand-me-downs from older cousins and friends (although that is beginning to trickle out as children age). The only things that I won't buy this way are socks, under garments, and PJ's.

 

I don't spend much time looking for clothes; however this is the secret when I go, I buy WHATEVER is the correct size (for both boys) or a larger size than they wear now, and is in perfect shape. I don't worry about what I already have or don't have. Anything that is not meant for the closet now goes into storage. We don't have extensive storage in our home, but I dedicate a corner of the under eaves storage and 1/2 of the guest closet to the boy's clothes storage. My guys are 3 years apart, so anything that is still good after the older boy is finished has to be stored for the younger.

 

The clothes are packed into paperboxes (the kind that reams of paper come in) with a cedar plank at the bottom and labeled: Winter dress pants, winter jeans, winter long sleeve shirts, summer shorts, summer t-shirts, summer polos... you get the idea. I don't even bother packing the new stuff into their designated boxes. I just toss it in the attic, and it will get sorted at the next rotation.

 

When it comes time to flip the closets (twice a year for warm and cold), I pull out ALL of the boxes. We can quickly sort through what is still way too big, put it back in the boxes, keep out what is the correct size. I guess I do take a mental note about what I don't need to buy again for a while and what might be good to find at this point. However, this is a big leap for a girl who used to keep an ITEMIZED list - what a waste of time!

 

Then comes the two hour modeling session. In the end, anything that is too small for the older son goes into storage. Anything that the younger has outgrown is given to friends with youngers. Yes, occasionally, I have three white polo shirts for the little guy. But because on average I paid $1.50/each, I can cheerfully share them to others who will benefit from my finding a bargin. Every season I probably give away a grocery bag clothes that I bought and couldn't personally use.

 

I have noticed a trend this year. The older has a plethora of "dress and errand" clothes while the younger has an abundance of "errand and play". Guess this is the natural progression of hand-me-downs.

 

It's not much, but the financial savings from shopping second-hand combined with the time-savings of not keeping track of a clothes inventory is huge for us.

Edited April 13, 2010 by bookfiend
addition

[kokotg]

I have three boys (all 2 to 2 1/2 years apart). Sometimes I think I'm going to need to fill in and buy new stuff for the younger ones, but it almost never actually happens. I just put out the summer clothes, and my youngest has 30 pairs of shorts. I'm not sure how this keeps happening to me. At least 90% of their stuff is bought used, too; I have something of a thrift store/garage sale addiction. One can't really pass up 3 pairs of like new Mini Boden shorts for $2 a pair, can one?

 

ETA: this is not to say I never DO buy stuff specifically for my younger kids...but I almost never NEED to.

[Sherry in OH]

For the first three years of my older son's life, nearly all of his clothing was handed down from an older cousin. I did buy socks and shoes. My son then grew to wear the same size as his cousin, so no more hand-me downs. He wears a lot of second hand clothing from consignment stores and yard sales.

 

I handed down the infant through size 2 clothing to my nephew, expecting to get it or similar clothing back to use for my second son (a year younger than his cousin). Unfortunately, my nephew is small for his age. I had to buy baby clothing for my second son.

 

As my older son outgrows clothing, I put it away for my second son. I go through the appropriate size bin seasonally, pulling out items for him to wear. I fill in with "new" items as needed.

 

I am finding that as the boys get older, less is handed down. My boys are hard on clothing.

[*Jessica*]

I haven't voted yet, I have to think my answer through before I do.

 

I have two boys who are 21 months apart in age. We get a lot of our clothing from my brother and SIL, because they buy nice clothing for my nephew and it has plenty of life left after he is done with it. I always intended to use those clothes and whatever else I needed to buy for my oldest and then hand them down to my youngest, buying him a couple of new things so he didn't feel like all he ever had were hand-me-downs.

 

I've had a bit of a wrench thrown into those plans, though! Nik (age 6) is at about the 50th percentile for height. Nate (age 4) is only a couple of inches shorter than his brother!!! So Nate has been wearing Nik's size 5 hand-me-down pants, but I have to buy him the same size 6 shirts as his big brother is wearing! I have a feeling that in a few years Nate will be handing his clothes down to his older brother.

 

I guess I'm an "other" vote.

[4kiddies]

Well I have four kids, and my three youngest are girls. There is only 3 years age difference from oldest girl to the youngest girl. I voted new as needed. They are so close in age there is no point in passing down. My feeling is why should the youngers not get pretty, new stuff becuase they are younger? Plus by the time they would get passed down I'm just downright sick of looking at it. :001_smile:

 

The only thing I do tend to pass down is snow pants and sometimes jeans if they are basic.

Edited April 13, 2010 by 4kiddies

[Starr]

I have a dd and ds but still handed down when possible. Dd, the girly girl, wore navy unisex snow boots for years. :)

[Punks in Ontario]

With 4 boys ( the oldest 2 are the same size and the younger two are just about the same size), we hand down whatever we can. The youngest boy sometimes doesn't have too much that's very nice, so we buy him whatever he needs to look decent.

 

The older boys don't have too much worthy of passing on, but the youngers have a cousin who has lots of clothes to pass on. The two of them have enough clothes for both of them from one boy.

[JulieJ]

I buy new for each boy as it is needed.

My guys are five years apart in age and I don't have the space or the desire to hang on to clothing that doesn't fit anyone.

 

 

We are exactly the same way!

[Ester Maria]

I have two daughters (and a baby on the way :)) who are less than full year apart and can wear most of each other's clothes. The older one is somewhat taller and thinner, but they can still wear the same clothes.

 

The problem is, well, that they don't WANT to, in 90% of the cases. They're okay with swapping their clothes as wanted (from time to time I see them in "wrong" clothes :D), and the younger one was okay with "inheriting" her sister's clothes when she was younger, but AS LONG as she was getting the proportional "dose" of her OWN clothes. Selfish? Maybe, but in a way I understand her - if money is not really an issue, why wouldn't a younger child get their own pretty new things of their choice, why would they have to live off the "charity" of their older siblings just because they happen to be younger?

So they each get their own clothes, and can swap them as wanted, or hand down to each other as wanted. They're okay with it, and I see that there are no issues about it.

[Mommy22alyns]

I save my favorites from Becca to hand down to Sylvia, but I still can't help but buy some new for Sylvia too. For this summer though, I really do NOT need to buy Sylvia anything, but Becca needs some things.

[myfatherslily]

If it's wearable, it's re-worn. A very large portion of our boys clothes were bought new for a friend, passed on to another friend, then passed on to us for DS4, and will be worn again by DS2.

[jujsky]

A boy & girl here. My DD is a girly-girl, so she wouldn't wear DS's hand-me-downs even if I wanted her to.

[2squared]

2 boys & 2 girls here, so I think I am eligible for this question.

 

Girls - Oldest dd usually goes thrift store shopping with me so she picks a lot of her own stuff. If it's still good when she's done with it, I save it for younger dd. When younger dd is older, I am sure I will take her to the thrift stores as well. They both get new stuff for special times, but the number of times I consider that necessary has declined as we add children to our family. :001_huh:

 

Boys - We pass down whatever we can, but most of it isn't usable anyway. I buy the boys cheap Walmart clothes. It gets trashed anyway, and they don't care. I can't find decent garage sale or thrift store clothes for the boys. The boys both get new stuff for special times too. Since they are nearly the same size, I can't even hand down shoes.

[Night Elf]

I have 3 but the middle is my son. It has never occurred to me to save clothes, maybe because the girls are 6 years different in age. Their body types are very different. I've always purchased new for each season, as things are needed, but we shop Target, Walmart, and deep sales at JC Penney and Children's Place (when the kids were still in children's clothing. :)

 

I wore my sister's hand-me-downs when I was young. I remember loving them because I wanted to be like my big sister anyway.

[Crimson Wife]

if money is not really an issue, why wouldn't a younger child get their own pretty new things of their choice

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd rather put the money to better use than spending it on redundant stuff just so that the younger one doesn't have to wear the older one's hand-me-downs. The older sibling has the extra responsibility of helping with the younger sibling, so I see it as only fair that he/she gets some perks to go along with the extra work.

[Ester Maria]

The older sibling has the extra responsibility of helping with the younger sibling

Not necessarily, not in all households older siblings have additional responsibilities with regards to their younger siblings... :) I won't be too quick to judge this, though, mine are so close in age that it's pointless to discuss it on their example, and even though I've sworn to myself that I won't burden them with any extra responsibilities when the baby is born, "never say never", I don't know what it's really going to be like, maybe I'll have to rethink some things.

 

I do get your point though, money can be spent in many better and more productive ways, you're absolutely right there. I don't know, maybe it's only my spoiled "only child" mentality (I was an only child, so maybe I'm unconsciously raising my children as if each of them was an only child and totally independent of the other one), but I still think a child is "entitled" to feel somewhat hurt if they feel their parents are trying to spare money on them when there's no economic reason to do that. Of course, that's not to say that each family doesn't have a full right to decide on their budget as they deem the best - they do.