Shopping for Children – Top 10 Tips

Family activities expert Dr. Bra Vada Garrett-Akinsanya offers tips on shopping and caring for children’s clothing.

1. Allow your child to help when you’re sorting clothes. Make sure they have a hamper in their bedroom to throw them in, rather than on the floor.

2. Teach your children to hang up their clothes after wearing them if they are not stained so that you’re not constantly doing laundry.

3. Help your child choose outfits for school, but give them a range of choices. They will love to browse online stores with you. Make use of offers such as coupons for ebay shipping to make the most of your budget.

4. Place a child’s shoe on a piece of heavy paper and trace around the shoe. Cut out the trace and keep it with you in your purse. You never know when you’ll be out without the kids and come across a great buy, and you can estimate the right size using the tracing.

5. Make the most of a wardrobe budget by choosing outfits with interchangeable pants or skirts.

6. Either buy the children socks of just one color, or assign a color to each child.

7. Before hitting the mall, have a good, filling meal. Make sure the children have full stomachs before they try on clothes.

8. Sometimes shopping for clothes isn’t a child’s idea of a good time. Make sure they know that if they cooperate and behave then perhaps they’ll be rewarded with a treat or small toy.

9. Bring along small games and coloring books on shopping excursions in case they get bored and need some entertainment.