Confusion with Toddler Clothing Sizes

I A.,
My name is D.; 2T is a little bigger than the 24 mos. 2T is just a little wider and longer not much. I would go with the 2T it would last long since they grow out of them so fast.

No worries. The clothing sizes in months are smaller and are more transitional as I'd like to characterize them. The "T" sizes are more age appropriate. I have gone through all those sizes with all three of my boys. I have a 7 week old, 3 yr old, and a 5 yr old. :-)

2T is bigger (or at least should be for each brand)than 24 months. Months are for infants, T is for toddlers.

24mo. size is for kids in diapers and 2T is for kids outof them.

HGope that helps

My experience is that 24 mos. is more wide than 2T. 2T is more narrow and a bit longer. Also, once your daughter gets potty trained the "T" sizes leave room for diapers still. For example, size 4 vs. 4T is different in the width as well. 4T will leave room for diapers and plain 4 is a bit more narrow in the bottom area. I hope this information helps.

Hi Mama A. S,

I have a 2 yr old. She just turned 2. 2T is bigger then 24mos.

Hey since you are a speech pathologist, I have a question. My daughter knows words but doesnt talk much. What can I do to simulate her to do so?

thanks a bunch

mama M in natomas

A.,
My daughter will be 2 in March as well. I've kinda deduced on my own that the 24mos is someting of a bridging size. It also depends on the clothier. Liker Carter vs. Osh Kosh. I've noticed that 2T tends to run a little bigger with the same brand, like Circo. I still buy 24mos in items that I want her to wear now, but 2T in things I want her to have some room to grow into.
A. =o)

24 months usually is a little wider in the diaper area and sometimes has snaps depending upon the outfit. Where as size 2T does not usually have snaps as alot of two year olds are out of diapers. This all depends upon the size of your baby so don't stress. Have fun shopping because you can now look in both departments, baby and toddler. :)

Hey A.:

2T is bigger than 24 months. If your daugheter is growning out of 18 month size clothes though you might want to check on clothing that is marked 18-24 months like clothers from Gymboree, Gap Kids, Old Navy or Children's Place. Sometimes clothes are marked for an age range rather than a solid 24 month sixe which might still be too big. If you can bring her with you and at least hold clothes up that is best. With most of the clothes for this age group the waist size is not very different...iot is more about the length.

Hope this helps. :)

N.

the 2T sizes are for taller children. if your daughter is smaller in size the 24 mos would be better for her. my youngest granddaughter will be 2 in September and she already wears a 24 mos. i bought her a couple of 2T and they were really long on her.

Thats funny im wondering the same thing.My friend and I were out shopping for my 18 month old son and I usally get 2T's and she saw the 24 month old size and asked what the difference was,we couldn't see any.If any one has a reall answer I would love to here it.

24 months has snaps and roomier seat for diapers. 2t is thinner and usually has no snaps.

size 24 months is sized to fit a diaper so it is roomier in the behind. The 2 T are cut slimmer in the waist and behind to accomodate a toddler that wears pull ups or underwear since it is not so bulky.

Size 24 months is like big baby clothes and size 2T is like little kid clothes. If that makes any sense :-)

24mos is going to have snaps in the crotch, a faux fly on the pants, snaps or the cross-over neck thing etc.

2T are like regular clothes, just small. The pants have real flies, shirts are normal shirts not onsies.

A great thing about the T sizes is that they usually have an adjustable waistband! it's like a built in belt (like some maternity pants) so if you have a thin kid like mine, they can finally start wearing pants that don't look like floods!

Sizes for ANY clothing are confusing these days!
I always assumed that the "T" behind a size indicates "toddler". But you can find that on sizes all the way up to the REALLY confusing 6x. It's been my experience that sizes with the T are usually a little longer in the leg and arms. Your 18 month old baby may wear a size 2, but would likely not wear a 2T like a small 3 year old would. All the "month" sizing really goes out the window because neither of my children wore the size for the month they were. My daughter only weighed 12 pounds at a year. She was perfectly healthy, but there are 2 month olds who weigh more than that. (She's 21 and still very tiny). My son was the exact opposite. He's 12 and 5'7". So, he never wore "regular" sizes either. You just have to find what fits your daughter. And I'm sure you have found that something you buy at Mervyn's that fits will not be the same size as something you buy at Baby Gap that fits. Anyway, I hope you aren't more confused than you already were and this helps a bit. Have fun shopping for you babies!

Hi A.,
My son was 2 lbs, 6 oz when he was born (quite early), and, while he has grown quite well, he has remained super skinny (not my genes!), so I had to become very knowledgeable about sizes. Otherwise, his pants, which were the current length, would fall when he ran! A 2T is definitely longer than 24 months, though, of course, 24 months from one brand might be cut larger than a 2T from a different brand. Each brand has a slightly different fit. I'm not positive about width, but I certainly do not remember the 24 month items being wider -- my recollection is the opposite, but this was a couple of years ago. Best I can recall, I got tops in 2T so that he could wear them for longer (can always roll long sleeves) and pants in 24 months so that he wouldn't trip on them (some material cuffs well, others fall right out). I can't help w/ skirts or dresses! Try to find a brand that has both sizes and compare the same item in both sizes. You can also bring in an 18 month item of hers and hold it up to the different sizes to see how they differ from what currently fits her (or sort of fits her!). I would say that, if your daughter grows quickly and has the normal two year-old Buddha belly, go for the 2T and save some $. If, like my son, she grows more slowly (he was between the 25th and 50th percentiles in height, and between the 10th and 25th in weight at two) and is built kind of like a rubber chicken, go for 24 months for pants and make sure all pants have the adjustable waist band on the inside of the pants (elastic with button holes -- just pull until tight enough and button). Happy shopping!
K.

I don't know the answer but my five year old fits into 3 year old pants.

I was just having this discussion with a woman in the store yesterday. My 10 1/2 month old is in the 18mo size, but by summer he will be moving up to the 24mo/2t size. We decided that 24mo and 2t are for the same size kids but 2t may be slightly longer. I'll be very interested in the responses too.

the other responses are great. just wanted to add something. as your child gets older, their proportions will change. the limbs will start to lengthen, so they will start to look more like a little kid and their trunk won't be so long in comparison. i believe the weight/heights for 24mos and 2T are about the same, but the proportions for 2T are more for a small kid, rather than a big baby.

also, 24mos clothing tends to run a little cheaper, since it is categorized as infant instead of toddler/little kid.

i "technically" fit the height and weight guidelines for size 16 girls clothing (I'm really short w/small bones), but my proportions are of a woman, not a girl. Not just the chest and hips, but also the leg length and arm length. those hems tend to be too short on me. your limbs continue to lengthen as you age.

it seems completely redundant, i agree! 24mo sizing is slightly smaller all around, but especially in the length of the clothing item. 2T is larger, so if your daughter is on the petite side (like mine is), then you should probably stick with the 24mo size for now until she gets a little taller and overall bigger, or else the 2T clothes will be swimming on her. hope this helps!

2T is "roughly" 2 years old, but not exactly. Over the years I found that 24mo clothes were smaller than 2T, and actually I got a lot less wear out of the 24mo clothes because they always seemed to coincide with a growth spurt in my kids - two of my girls went right from 18mo to 2T and never looked back.

I've noticed that in general 24-month sizes seem a little wider and shorter, and 2Ts seem a little leaner and longer. Also, 2Ts sometimes have more and fiddlier fastening thingies than 24-months sizes. Because toddler just love to stand still while you snap their waistband and then zip their fly, right?

My oldest has been gigantic from birth and was still in roly-poly baby mode when she was large enough to wear 24 month sizes; she wasn't walking and didn't have the toddler-like body. It mostly mattered for onesies and pants, but it mattered enough that I made an effort to get everything in 24-month sizes for her. The younger is currently almost two but pretty much in the middle of the growth charts and I don't see much difference between 24-month and 2T on her.

Hello!! I have found that 2T is generally about a hem longer than the 24months. I think that the 24 month clothes are usually supposed to be worn up to 24 months. Then the 2t clothes usually fit my kids anywhere from 2 to nearly 3 years of age where I will then start going to the 3T. Hope this helps!!

I used to work for a clothing company and have the answer for you.
Some baby clothes designers make a few different Collections.
There is an infant collection and this will be sized in months... for example, 0-3 months, 12-18 months, 24 months - this "infant" collection is designed to look more infantile... cuter, softer, sweeter.
Then it moves onto toddler collection, this is an older look, not as sweet and baby-like.
Here is where there is an over-lap of sizing ... 24 months and 2 T should be about the same size if you lined them up, but the design of them will be different.

Again this will vary from clothing stores

however, we should not assume that because your child is 2 years old, that they will fit into a 2T or 24 month sizing.
always look at the weight and height to match up to correct size

I find that sometimes, ther is barely any difference between 24 mo & 2T in pants. The sizing really tends to vary per brand. But I do find a size difference betwen 24 m & 2T's in tops. My son is a 2T in pants but is a 3T in shirts. You just have to hold them up next to each other to see the difference. Good luck!

I have a two year old - and in most cases a 2T is bigger than a 24mo. Who knows why they do it... it goes for saying that the 24month sized clothing is usually in the infant department, and the 2T's are in the children's department.

When my daughter was 18 months old, I bought 24mo. sized clothing - now that she is 25 months, I always get 2 or 3T in order for there to be a little growing room.

24 mos. usually are a bit roomier for diapers and the 2T are a little more streamlined and thinner.

I felt that the 24 mo. clothes were just a little smaller. So it just depends on how cute it is. The same thing happens at 4. Then you have 4t and 4/5.

The sizes are kind of strange. a 2T is slightly larger. I would look at the lbs & hights on the labels to see what one your daughter will fit best in.

Your question has probably already been answered, but just in case... It goes 18-mo, 24-mo, 2T, 3T, etc... There is also a 1T, and I think this like 18-24 mo's. There is not a big difference between 24 mo's and 2T, but the 2T's will last a little longer because they are slightly bigger.

Well I *think* the 24 month sizes are for a more baby typed two year oldish child..where as the 2T would be for like a child who was trying to learn potty training and may be wearing underwear instead of a diaper. The 24 months allow for diaper room area I believe and the toddler sizes usually don't allow as much room. Plus many of the 24 months pants and suits have snaps and such to get to a diaper where as the toddler clothes usually have to be pulled totally off to change a diaper.

and i have to add I LOVE the adjustable waistband clothing in the toddler sizes, all my boys have been lil stringbeans and their pants would fall off, belts are annoying for them to buckle at such a young age and teachers get frustrated having to constantly buckle belts and a regular size pants for them falls off, so the adjustable ones, with the little buttons and such inside the waistband is a lifesaver. I actually BUY pants by looking for those now because otherwise the pants will fall off, or never get worn cuz the kids don't wanna wear a belt.

My girlfriend who was buying clothes for my son asked this question and she was told the 2T's were longer in the pant leg as opposed to the 24mo.

I think the difference is the 24mos. has more room in the seat for diapers.

I avoid snaps and zippers in pants. Why? Because they grow out of those WAY faster than sweats or stretch pants. There's no growth room in them if they fit perfectly. If you get them a bit too big then they're falling down. I don't have that problem with stretch or sweat pants.

2T tends to be longer.

Hello,

2T is bigger. 18-24 months is just a range but most 2 year olds will not fit in 24 months old clothes. Always buy big because your little will grow quickly at this stage!!

J.

I believe that 2T clothing is longer

OMG! I went through the same thing! Sounds the same,RiGHT? Well what they told me was that 24 mos has more room in the butt for diapers, and 2t is a bit more snug, for those who are already potty trained. 24mos/for diapers 2T/for NO diapers! other than that they are pretty close. Also at Goores the woman said that 2T will last them between 2 and 2.5 years, and 24 mos is basically 18-24mos. BUt totally depending on your daughters size and shape, she will now get to enter the lovely world that is trying it all on!!!

Hi A.,
I had the same question with my first (I am mom to 4 boys now...) and this is how it was explained to me... 24 months is finishing up the baby sizes and is slightly smaller than the 2T which means you are heading into toddler sizes. To be honest, I have always kept mine in the same tub together when I didn't have a child wearing them. They are really very close in sizing, so I never really saw the point of keeping them separate.
Hope that helps. :-) Kara

I can tell you 24 months is 2 year old clothing.I have no idea why they label it that way. 2T is toddler 2 which is the same thing. Some companies label the tags that way.Who knows why? I hope this helped.