Cold temperatures and freezing precipitation can make it difficult to put together cute winter outfits while still keeping your toddler warm, dry and comfortable. However, with the right tips and tricks, you can absolutely find cute toddler boy clothes and cute toddler girl clothes that are still appropriate for the colder weather. Here are six tips to help you put together stylish yet practical outfits that will keep your toddlers warm all winter long:
1) Compare weight vs. warmth.
We often think that heavier fabrics are automatically warmer, and while there is some truth to this, a thicker fabric isn’t always better. Some materials, such as wool and down, provide excellent warmth while still remaining thin and light. Heavy fabrics can also make it hard for your child to move around, especially if they are learning to walk or potty training.
Such heavy fabrics probably aren’t necessary inside where you can control the temperature and keep it mild, but they can help keep your child warm when going outside. And be especially careful with cotton. While cotton is light and comfortable, it soaks up sweat and takes forever to dry, so it can actually chill your child if they end up sweating directly onto a cotton garment.
2) Size the garments correctly.
Toddlers grow fast, often wearing their clothes for just a season. A coat that fits this year will often be too small by the time the next winter rolls around. While it can be tempting to buy clothing a size up in order to prolong your child’s use of it, wearing clothing that is too large makes it harder for your body to retain heat.
Large, bulky clothing also makes it hard to move around and can make your child more prone to tripping and falling. If you do decide to buy a size larger than your child currently is, make sure that the clothing isn’t so large they will be tripping around in it. Layer other clothing beneath larger coats and pants to help stop heat from escaping and keep your child’s temperature up. And if you live in a very cold area where you are constantly layering anyway, then you might actually need to buy slightly larger outerwear to accommodate the clothing underneath.
3) Make sure they can dress and undress easily.
Toddlerhood is a time of major motor skill development. Young kids are learning to crawl, stand, walk, use the bathroom, dress themselves and more. To help support this process, you should choose garments that allow for full freedom of movement and are easy for them to take on and off.
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This is especially important for little girl pants and other bottoms if your child is potty training. You don’t want them to have an accident because they can’t change out of their clothes in time. Whenever you get new clothes, have your kids do a fit check to make sure that they won’t cause any problems and that the layers don’t get caught up on each other.
4) Dress your kids properly for outdoor playtime.
Unlike babies, toddlers will likely need at least some playtime outdoors, even during the winter, to help burn off their ever-increasing energy. Compared to adults, however, toddlers’ bodies aren’t great at regulating their temperature, which is why young kids can easily become flushed and overheated even while running around at near-freezing temperatures outside.
That’s why it’s so important to dress your child in layers and augment their outerwear with cold-weather accessories such as gloves and hats. If your child starts to get hot outside, they can remove a hat or a sweater while keeping on their jacket and gloves and otherwise mix and match clothes to help them maintain the perfect temperature.
5) Remember cold-weather accessories.
Adults lose a lot of heat through their heads, hands and feet, and this is true for toddlers as well. Cold weather accessories help combat this heat loss, not to mention make your kids look very cute in the process. Hats, gloves, mitten scarves, neck gaiters and more are essentials to bring along to every outdoor outing. If your child is outside in the sun, sunglasses and ski goggles will protect their eyes from the glare.
Choose winter shoes that have a treaded sole and water-resistant or waterproof treatments to protect their feet from getting wet. In fact, if you live in an area that gets a lot of precipitation, it’s a good idea to make sure that all your kids’ outerwear, including accessories, are either water-resistant or waterproof. They won’t do much to keep your kid warm if the fabric gets completely soaked!
6) Keep them safe in the car.
Winter clothing is super important for keeping your kids warm, but it can also pose a safety hazard whenever they travel in a car seat or booster seat. This is because the straps are designed to fit tightly against the child’s body, and putting the straps over the bulky coat often causes too much slack, which could endanger your child in case of an accident.
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To test your car seat, put on your child’s outerwear, place them in the car seat and buckle and tighten the straps. Then, unbuckle the straps, remove the coat or other outerwear and rebuckle the straps. If there is any slack in the straps now, then the coat is too bulky to be safely worn in the car seat. Instead, take the outerwear with you in the car and put it on your child once you arrive safely.
Follow these tips to help keep your toddlers feeling warm and looking cute this winter. Remember that they’re only this little once, so enjoy your time playing in the snow with them and savor the memories while you can!
