So when we were back to school shopping, there was a family all of them overweight and their 10-12 year old daughter. I had my similar age daughter trying on clothes too. I was suprised in the clothes they let her buy, they were all so SNUG! For those of you with bigger kids, is it just hard to find clothes that fit loosely? My dd only weighs 66 pounds(5 foot tall) so nothing is too tight on her..LOL. But my son wears husky sizes and I am always able to find stuff that doesn't hug his skin. I don't wear tight clothes myself, so I don't like them on my kids. So going into the school I see kids with clothes that cling to their little puffy bellies and am just suprised. So my question is really just how do yall feel? Do your kids wear tighter fitting clothes, loose clothes, is what they wear affected by their size?

By Melissa on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 08:13 pm:

My dd is little for 6 so it's not an issue for us either by age or size. I see a lot of girls in this 10-16 age bracket and I can't believe how many of them have either too tight or too short shirts and too low pants. I think they just want what they believe is the style and they don't realize how bad it looks, and that it actually makes them look heavier. Why don't their mothers tell them?! I also can't believe how many kids there are that do have "puffy little bellies" these days.

By Imamommyx4 on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 08:14 pm:

My dss are 23,21, 19 and they have never worn tight nor too loose fitting clothes. They all wear about a size too big but not falling off like some boys I see.
DD is 3 1/2 and already very particular about her clothes and I hope it keeps up. She is always fussing about shirts that are now too short. Hates her belly to show. Thank you, Lord!
We went to the zoo today and I saw a nicely dressed middle aged woman with 4 girls, one of which was her daughter. From the makeup and clothes I thought they were pretty much 16 to 18. Nope. They were 11 to 13. Not fat girls but had poochy bellies with shirts too short and bellies hanging out. All had on jeans about 2 sizes too small. Bothers me.

My mom hated that I dressed with clothes too loose. She called it slouchy. Now I'm hating the too tight thing. My mom was a teenager in the early 40's and always dressed to the T. Everything exactly fit, matching accessories, hair perfectly in place. She didn't have much but she knew how to dress nice.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 10:13 pm:

This is a talk DH and I have every day when we go to pick up DD from the high school. We don't understand it either. I am a border line plus myself and I know they have very nice in fashion clothing in the proper sizes for those girls. I think, just from talking to a few of DD's friends that the girls think that if they can get it on than it fits. Laying down to pull on your jeans and showing your fat rolls is not fitting. It is frumpy and it is not attractive at all. Gives big girls a bad name. But we have this debate all the time.

By My2cuties on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 10:54 pm:

This is so wierd that we all see the same problem (clothes fitting too tight) and we are from all different states. That means, obviously, it is an issue of what children see on television and want to fit in, rather than not being able to find clothes that fit. Whatever it is I wish it would go out of style, so my dd's don't have to see it.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 11:05 pm:

You know, in this day and age I really wish women would just start accepting who and what they are. I see plus size women every day that a beautiful and very fashionable. Just because you are plus sized it doesn't mean you have to dress in a sack and it doesn't mean you need to degrade yourself by letting things that shouldn't be seen outside of closed doors hang all out. If we start accepting ourselves then the world will start accepting us too. Now don't get me wrong, I see an uprising in weight issues with our children also, which is unhealthy and something needs to be done. But if you are a plus dress it up and represent yourself with tact, sexy doesn't have a darn thing with walking around with a four inch fat roll hanging out under a size medium t shirt worn over a pair of jeans two times to small. Let alone jeans that tight are bad on your ovaries, kidneys or everything else that is cramed into those jeans.

By Emily7 on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 11:40 pm:

Bobbie you are so right.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Tuesday, October 12, 2004 - 11:53 pm:

Old Navy has plus sizes in most of their clothing now, for those that haven't seen it.

Old Navy Plus sizes 16 to 26

By Colette on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 07:42 am:

I think it is just gross to #1. let your child get so heavy that they have rolls. and #2 to then buy your child clothing that doesn't fit. I am seeing preschoolers with HUGE bellies popping out of the bottom of their shirts, "plumber cracks" from pants that don't fit properly and double chins. I feel sorry for the kids that have parents that let them get that heavy.

By Fraggle on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 09:01 am:

I just don't get it. My dh can't stand when he sees overweight women who wear jeans or pants low on their waist and then wear a shirt so short that their belly(s) stick out. Do people think that look is really attractive? It is so sad seeing small children so overweight. My oldest DD asked me the other day if she could get one of those motorized cars for Christmas. She has seen a few kids in the neighborhood driving them. Two kids actually drive the vehicle while their parent is taking a walk for exercise. I told her no way (they are expensive for one) and I told her she was much better off riding her bike and using her muscles when we take a family walk. She also asked me this morning if she could take candy for her morning snack at school. Of course I said no, and I asked her why she was asking me that. She told me that her friend brings things like skittles for her snack. It is funny because at the beginning of the year, in her teacher's newsletter, she asked the parents to provide "healthy" snacks for their children-I thought that was a no-brainer-I guess I was wrong.

By Vicki on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 09:26 am:

I agree that I don't like the "styles" of today at all. We went as a family to the fair a couple of weekends ago and I was amazed at the number of butt cracks we saw on high school girls in their low rise jeans sitting down. It was nasty!!

But having said that, with the styles that are out today, I think it would be very hard to dress if you were a teen with a little weight problem. My dd is only 9 and a half and she is a peanut (about 56 pounds and tall) so I have a hard enough time getting her clothes, but with the style of jeans out there and how low of a rise they have, if they got jeans big enough for the legs, thighs and rears, they would be swimming in the waist!! My dd likes just regular jeans and it is next to impossible to find them!! The are all hip huggers with flared legs!!

By Kaye on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 09:39 am:

For me it isn't even the pants, I don't think they look nice and are cool, but all the tighter tshirts. I mean really if it clings to your skin it mostly isn't nice looking. Especially if you are a little chunky. Of my three kids 2 are just tiny and then my middle kid is chunky. I don't feel like this is my bad parenting that has let him get this way. We all eat the same foods, we try to teach him reasonable portions, he rides his bike daily for at least an hour, he was on a swim team last summer. He is very active, but definitely on the bigger side. If we didn't watch him closer he would be fat. This is very hard though, my oldest is struggling to maintain weight (lost 6 pounds over the summer), so we are trying to fatten her up at every chance we get. Again my point isn't so much that our kids are getting fatter (and look through your old class pictures, they are), but why we can't accept how they look and dress them appropriately.

By Kate on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 09:48 am:

Vicki, buy her boy jeans. That's what I do. I buy my daughter the Penney's 'Arizona' relaxed fit jeans. They have every size imaginable!! Slim, regular, husky, etc. And the legs are STRAIGHT, not flared. And they sit at her WAIST, not her HIPS! They look like totally normal jeans, you cannot tell they are boys. They look exactly like my normal Gap classic fit jeans. You may prefer to buy them without her so she doesn't KNOW they are boy jeans. My daughter remains oblivious and looks very nice! Good luck!

By Vicki on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 11:12 am:

LOL..I might have to try that! Is the zipper on the right side?? Now that I say that it sounds silly, but isn't the part that covers the zippers on the opposite side on mens/boys pants?? Don't know why I am thinking that, but it could be a give away to my very observant little girl!!

By Kate on Wednesday, October 13, 2004 - 11:20 am:

Well, if you are WEARING them, the FLAP faces your right. So you would zip with your right hand. My jeans are the same way, as are her other girl clothes. Now, my husbands pants zip this way, too! I think it USED to be that they were on different sides, but maybe whichever sex had it on the left originally complained enough and now they are ALL made this way since most people are right handed.

By Eight_Kids on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 08:13 am:

Two of my step daughters are big. The 13 yo usually gets guys jeans and likes to wear them down around her butt (UGH!!!!) but she always has big shirts so you can't tell. The 12 yo...she's the prissy 'girlie-girl' type and her pants are usually tight but her shirts are long enough that her belly doesn't show much. I figure if they are comfortable then let them wear what they want. At that age I think it reflects more on them then the parents. My dd is only 7 and wants to wear the tight jeans and show off her belly. NO WAY!!!!

By Mommyathome on Thursday, October 14, 2004 - 09:27 am:

I never knew that boys/mens jeans zipped differently. I know that mens shirts button down the opposite side of womens though.

By Mommyof4 on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 09:14 am:

I do agree that the pants that ride low on the hips and the shirts that barely come to the belly button are not attractive BUT I feel that they are unatractive on ALL not just those of us that don't have the perfect body. After reading a few posts on the feelings on overweight people and clothes I am a bit scared to leave my home today in anything but a large garbage bag because I sure don't have the perfect body.

By Jackie on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 09:22 am:

I havent read all the replies yet. But, I can certainly understand the whole tight clothing thing. I watch the middle school/high school age kids walk by. The style is the low rise pants and tight short shirts..BUT, unfortunately, I think they kids who have extra fluff, dont look good in at all. Those short shirts shows every bump and bulge..Its so unfortunate that the style now a days is only flattering on thinner kids..And, girls want to fit in so badly , they dont care how it looks, if its in style, they want it.My kids arent of that age yet, so hopefully the style will change when they are older.

By Brandy on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 10:00 am:

knock on wood but i'm sooo glad i have boys now lol..and they aren't really picky either = )

By Dawnk777 on Friday, October 15, 2004 - 02:36 pm:

I wish the whole tummy thing would go away. I just really don't like seeing everyone's tummy, whether they are skinny or not. I think clothes should just cover one's body!

By Bobbie~moderatr on Saturday, October 16, 2004 - 01:02 am:

Mommyof4, this isn't about perfect body. This is about improperly fitting clothing. I am a border line plus size myself. But I dress my self according to my size. If you are a XL don't buy a M and squeeze yourself in to it. And just because you can get it on doesn't mean it fits. It seems that in these cases, parents aren't teaching their children how to dress themselves to show off their assets and deminish their short comings. The lessons most of us were taught have slipped out the door. Like proper skirt length for work as an example. There is no concern about what impression these girls are putting out there. And I know that it is a hot topic and a major issue all the way around. The boys complain about it at school all the time. I mean when you sit behind some girl and you see 3 inches of crack there is a problem. And when you have the bottom of the T shirt then a roll and then the top of your jeans there is a problem. These are not clothes you should be wearing and like I said they do sell plus size fashionable clothing. If you go to the Old Navy site, the plus size clothes are the very same clothes they sell in the standard sized clothing section.