Kids' clothing sizes by age and height (2T to 14)

Measure the child's height and read the row; the age printed on the label is only a guide. Ruban Size's Toddler and Baby templates say it in so many words: "Choose by height first: age is only a guide." The girls' and boys' templates start from height too.

The values below are copied from those templates: Kids, Toddler, Baby, Girls' dresses and Boys' trousers. They are typical values, meant to be replaced by each brand's own, so the brand's chart wins for a given garment.

Kids' sizes by age and height

From the Kids template:

How to read the charts

1. Measure height barefoot, back against a wall, from the floor to the top of the head.
2. Find the row by height, not by age.
3. Check the second measurement the garment cares about: the chest for dresses and tops, the inseam for trousers.

After 6, the Kids template counts in even sizes, so its 8Y row covers what other charts split into 7 and 8. A tall 6-year-old or a small 9-year-old lands wherever the height says. For the measuring itself, with a child who won't stand still, see how to measure kids for clothes; shoes have their own kids' shoe size chart, by foot length.

Toddler sizes: 2T to 5T

From the Toddler template:

The template's note explains the T: "T sizes leave room for a diaper." Otherwise a 2T has the same height, weight and chest as a 2Y in the Kids template, and as an 18-24 M in the Baby template. One child, three labels; the cut is what changes.

Sizes 4 to 14: girls' dresses and boys' trousers

From the Girls' dresses and Boys' trousers templates, which share the same heights:

From 10 up, each size covers 10 cm of height, and sizes 9, 11 and 13 are left out. The girls' note: "Choose by height first, then check the chest." The boys' note: "Adjustable waistband inside: choose by height, then by inseam." The waist moves little from size to size, which is why trousers lean on height and inseam.

Baby sizes

From the Baby template:

Why kids' sizes don't line up

The templates themselves disagree a little, which shows how loose kids' sizing is. A 3T runs to 99 cm, a 3Y to 98. A 12 in girls' dresses stops at 150 cm, a 12Y in the Kids template at 152. A size 8 starts at 125 cm, an 8Y at 117. Between brands the gaps are wider.

We give no growth margin for clothes: none of the app's sources sets one. What the charts do show is where each size ends, so a child at the top of a range can see how far the next size goes. Find my size leans the same way: on kids' charts, a size a little large costs it less than one a little small.

How a store should present kids' sizes

1. Height as the first measurement, with a cm/in switch, and weight in kg or lb.
2. The size labels the store prints (2T, 4Y, 6-12 M, 10) as the sizes, with the age shown as a guide, not the rule.
3. Separate charts for baby, toddler and kids, each on the right products.
4. The second measurement that matters for the garment: chest for tops and dresses, inseam for trousers.
5. A plain note that says to choose by height.

How Ruban Size does it

Find my size for kids speaks to the parent: "Enter your child's measurements. We compare them with this chart." Height counts most, then age, chest and weight. Labels like 4Y or 6-12 M are read as ages, so a chart without an age column still uses them. On the Kids template, a 120 cm 7-year-old gets 8Y, whose row runs from 117 to 128 cm.

The child's measurements are saved apart from the parent's own, on the shopper's device only, so a parent's chest never lands in a child's chart. The height and weight estimate, for shoppers without a tape, is not offered for under 18s.

Each chart shows on the products you choose: the Toddler chart on a toddler collection, the Boys' trousers chart on products tagged trousers, with rules by tag, collection, type or vendor. Units convert row by row, cm and in, kg and lb.

Questions

Should I buy kids' clothes by age or height?

By height. Ruban Size's kids' templates all start from height, and its Toddler and Baby templates put it plainly: "Choose by height first: age is only a guide."

What is the difference between 4T and 4?

Almost the same height: 100 to 106 cm for a 4T, 99 to 106 cm for a 4. T sizes leave room for a diaper; a 4 is cut for a child out of them.

What height is a kids' size 10?

131 to 140 cm (51.6 to 55.1 in) in the Girls' dresses and Boys' trousers templates, and 129 to 140 cm for a 10Y in the Kids template.

What age is 2T?

About 2 years, but go by the measurements: 86 to 92 cm and 12 to 14 kg, the same as a 2Y or an 18-24 M.