If you have more than one child, it is good to preserve the elder child's clothes for the younger one. That way in the intial few years you can save a lot on the costs for new clothes. Besides in the first few years of life children outgrow their clothes real fast and can wear unisex clothes at home atleast. Have you practiced this?
This a smart way of saving on children's clothes indeed! But, you know, children are even smarter. Invariably the younger one will sulk on having to wear the used clothes. There're garments like jackets, sweaters etc which remain intact for years, and thus could be passed on. Until a child receives it well, this is quite an economical idea.
Indeed, it is so economical if your children will wear their siblings clothes. Another way to save money is shopping at thrift shops. They have some very decent clothes for everyone in the family. You can get a good deal shopping at Walmart too. I went to browse and found for myself some much needed sandals now priced $10 and up. I found a bargain counter and it was going for $5! It was in my size and my favorite colors for sandals too, so I snatched them up for it was the last pair. After the excitement of finding a terrific find, I calmed down and made sure it was perfect. I found while browsing the same day some wallets for just $2! Just in the color I like for wallets and for just $2, I got 2 wallets. That same day as I was browsing I saw 75% off on children's clothes too, so you see it's fun to take a few minutes to see what's on in-store specials. I found what I wanted and needed for such a great price, I was delighted with my purchases saving a lot of money too!
This thread reminds me of my childhood years. There are 4 boys in the family that are spaced 2 years in age. I am the 3rd boy and you can guess that I inherit the clothes of my 2 older brothers. And not just clothes but sometimes also the shoes. Especially during my grade school days, my parents would buy new clothes for my 2 older brothers and their old ones would be passed on to me and to the 4th boy in the family who is almost of my size although I am older by 2 years. I cannot blame my parents because I saw that they did that to be able to buy a home of our own.
I think that everyone that has gone through this can certainly recognize the amount that gets wasted having them grow so fast. We were lucky to benefit from other siblings and good friends, but still the money adds up quick.
Many people waste money on buying dresses, pink shoes, and girly toys for their first baby and when they have a boy or one of their family members has a boy, those used items become useless. Same with boy items. It's best to purchase unisex clothing for babies 0 to 2 years old then after they turn 3, you can purchase clothing appropriate for their gender/preference along with purchasing a few sizes larger. Let's say a 5-year-old size for a 3-year-old. From 3 years and on, they start growing a lot less quick than from 0 to 2.
I agree with you and being the eldest of three brothers I have grown seeing them wearing my old clothes in different stages right from beginning. I think it's one of the traditions in our community that we do not use new clothes for newly born up to a certain age especially before a particular ceremony is held.
Yes, I have only purchased clothes for my eldest son, and my two younger ones are just wearing the clothes I have bought more than 8 years ago. As my eldest is a boy, so it doesn't matter for my second child who is a girl to wear the boy's clothes all the time, though I am always asked to let my girl wear skirt or dress. Besides this, I have got many hand-me-downs from my friends, especially my neighbors. So I don't even need to buy clothes for my eldest son now, as he has got many clothes from others as well. Some still look quite new and in good condition, and even some are old, they are comfortable to wear at home or for going to the park too. I think it's good to just past down the clothes to the younger siblings or others.
Yes it is really good way for saving on kids clothes. Small kids (around 1 to 2 year age) really grows faster. So that even if we buy clothes they became small in size in no time as kids are growing faster. So those clothes don't get that rough, in fact they are just like new one. So other kids can use that clothe for sure.
I think a great way to save a lot of good money on this follow up is to buy some clothes with slightly larger numbers because in that way the clothes aren't lost as fast as the ways babies / children grow.
Very nice suggestion. Also, I can recommend to shop for kids clothing that are gender neutral and can be used for child of any gender.
