siblings sharing clothes

Rachael - posted on 01/11/2012

i think it's a good idea to save money to have them share some clothes, but try and get each child a few outfits of their own too.

Sylvia - posted on 01/10/2012

I'd say it depends on the kids. I've known kids who wouldn't even notice, and others who would fight it tooth and nail. If your kids have any of that dynamic where Kid A desperately wants Thing X right this minute just because Kid B happens to be using it right now, then forget it :P Otherwise, it's definitely worth a try!

Many kids dress mostly in hand-me-downs or second-hand clothes. About 75% of my 9yo DD's current wardrobe, for instance, consists of stuff her BFF wore 2 years ago, when she was the size DD is now -- they were having a clear-out, and we were overjoyed to be spared the clothing portion of the back-to-school shopping. I spent most of my childhood in hand-me-downs from older kids in the neighbourhood. Sharing clothes is a little bit different, in that it creates the opportunity for friction between siblings over particular items, but the basic principle is the same, I think.

Rebecca - posted on 01/10/2012

Do you even think they will care? My boys are almost 4 (twins) and they share all their clothes. The only item of clothing that is "theirs" specifically are their winter coats.

Jenny - posted on 01/10/2012

I don't believe in waste. We buy many items for our daughter with the plan for them to be handed to her brother. Don't fall to the marketing scheme. Save your money and go with hand me downs. Raise them to not be materialistic and it won't be an issue.

Vegemite - posted on 01/10/2012

They are only 2 and 4. We've always handed clothes down, sometimes my oldest will say, hey that's my __, about something the youngest is wearing. We just tell him it's too small now and there's no issue. Maybe I could let them chose one top and one bottom piece of their own.

Tracey - posted on 01/10/2012

Are the boys old enough to express an opinion, if not let them share. Mine are 16 months apart and they share most clothes except school uniform and a few favourite outfits.

Hannah - posted on 01/10/2012

i dont see a problem with it! I feel it's thw same as shopping at thrift shops & garage sales,or boxing up clothes from a child and storing them for the next. At this age, it probably wont even phase them, and if they start to mind it, then you could change the system

Teresa - posted on 01/09/2012

Laura, they're small enough that they don't always NEED a bra, but in a white shirt, tight shirt, or any of their light colored leotards.... oh yeah. The funny thing is that the kid w/ the smaller rib cage... is the taller and heavier of the two.

They also steal my shirts sometimes....

Jenn - posted on 01/09/2012

My girls are two years apart and my oldest is sooo tiny that she still shares clothes with her sister! They choose to. Their personalities and likes/dislikes do vary but they also enjoy having a broader selection by sharing. They ARE girls after all :)

Sherri - posted on 01/09/2012

Eeek I could never do it. I feel every child should have things that just belong to them and clothing kind of falls under that catagory. Now some clothing sure they could share but they should have a selection that is all theirs too.

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/09/2012

Oh goodness the girls are into bras??,?!? Scary.

Teresa - posted on 01/09/2012

My situation is slightly different, but my girls share all their clothes. There are some things that they have determined are just for one or the other, but just about everything else is shared... except sports bras, but that's cuz one girl wears a 34 and the other wears a 30... lol

Sal - posted on 01/09/2012

A bit of both, the bulk of what they néed can be communal with some special one each, my girls share sone stuff but not others they aren't the same exact size but o have one wardrobe and they wear what ever they like

Becky - posted on 01/09/2012

My kids are far from the same size even though they're only 18 months apart - my 2 year old is teeny tiny - but we definitely pass the clothes down. I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe for every child, much as I enjoy shopping for kid's clothes! But, I do still get a few things for each child that are new to them - coming home outfit for a newborn, Christmas outfits, and occassionally matching outfits for everyone because I'm cheesy like that. :) The only thing to be careful of if you are going to have them share is that somethings might become a favorite for both of them and you'd have fights over who gets to wear it. So you might need to buy them each one in cases like that. Otherwise, I think it's fine.

Laura Zoey - posted on 01/09/2012

Well we plan on 4+ kids so we have saved all the clothes from our two yr old son and are also saving all our daughters clothes so we will be reusing them for any future sons or daughters.
In my situation we already buy all our 'new' clothes used anyways so reusing them kid to kid seems like no biggie.
Of course each new baby will have some new things as gifts and such but I will be reusing all clothes til theyre destroyed!

Denikka - posted on 01/09/2012

My 11mo daughter shares some shirts with her 2.5yr old brother :P (he's not small, she's really big XD)
I think some clothes is fine, especially shirts. But I agree with Kimberly. Definitely allow them to have their own things too. A couple of favorite shirts and that sort of thing. Special occasion outfits are another thing than they should probably have their own too :)
Especially with boys, I don't think it'll be much of a problem. When they get older they're probably going to be likely to share anyways :P

Kimberly - posted on 01/09/2012

I dont see a huge problem with sharing some of there clothes like yard or casual clothes but I would still let them have a few outfits that are there 'own' and they dont have to share. Its just so they can some things that are special and there's. I would make sure they have there own under clothes though as that to me is a personal thing. Hope they can learn to share