Measured: Fabric is judged by the label's fiber content percentages, listed heaviest fiber first, and by cloth weight in grams per square meter or ounces per square yard.
Measured: Children's sizes are named by month to 24M, then by T sizes, then by number. Every band is judged against a height and weight chart rather than the child's birthday.
The basics
What to know about kid's outerwear
The layer that goes on last
Outerwear is the layer that goes on last, over everything else. It has three jobs that pull apart: holding heat in, keeping wind out, keeping water off. Barely any single garment does all three well, which is why this section runs to eight of them. Sizes follow the same bands as the clothes underneath, from baby months through big kid numbers, but the fitting question changes, because a coat has to close over a sweater and still let both arms swing.
Trapped air, not fabric
Still air trapped inside a garment is what warms a child, not the fabric itself. Fill supplies that air as either down, the clustered under-plumage of ducks and geese, rated by fill power, meaning how many cubic inches an ounce of it lofts to, or as synthetic batting made from fine polyester fibers. Down gives more warmth per ounce and squashes into a smaller bag, then collapses when wet and asks for careful washing. Synthetic holds its loft while damp and survives an ordinary machine, which for a coat headed into slush usually settles the argument. Fleece skips fill and catches the same air in a brushed pile. Over the top sits the shell, where two label words mean different things. Water-resistant fabric turns a short shower and then wets through, while waterproof describes a coated or laminated fabric with taped seams, a sealing strip that closes the holes the stitching left behind.
Match it to the weather
Match the garment to the weather rather than to the calendar. Fleece Jackets and Vests are middle layers, warm indoors and beaten by wind. Windbreakers do the opposite, blocking moving air with no insulation at all, and the pair together handles most of fall. Puffer Jackets bring fill and shell together for cold dry days. Parkas add length so the seat and thighs stay covered on a bench or a sled. Snowsuits & Snow Pants extend waterproofing below the waist for children who sit in snow rather than walk past it. Raincoats & Rain Suits deal with water and nothing else. Hats, Gloves & Scarves close the three openings every coat leaves, and sealing those does more for warmth than extra fill.
Choose by the thermometer
Temperature gives you the cleanest way to choose. Between roughly 55F and 65F, a windbreaker or a vest over a long sleeve is enough. From about 40F to 55F, fleece carries the day, and fleece under a thin shell covers the same range once wind arrives. Under 40F you need fill: a puffer for a child in constant motion, a parka for one who stands still at a bus stop or on a sideline. Snow on the ground adds snow pants whatever the thermometer says, since wet clothing pulls heat out of a child many times faster than dry clothing does. Rain at any of those temperatures adds a sealed shell on top.
Warmth arrives as bulk
Nothing here is free. Extra warmth arrives as bulk, and bulk is why coats get shed and left behind, and why a thick one has no business inside a car seat harness, where fill compresses in a crash and leaves the straps loose. Sealing a shell against water also seals sweat in, so a running child arrives home damp from the inside out. Buy two sizes up and you lose the seal, because the collar and the cuffs gap and warm air leaves through both. Down asks for more money and more careful washing than synthetic does. One coat chosen to cover a whole winter will be wrong for the mild weeks at either end of it.
Zip it and look
Hands tell you more than a fill number does. Zip the coat fully and look for a chin guard, the fabric flap behind the top of the zip that keeps metal off skin, since one pinched chin can get a coat refused for the season. Run a finger inside the shoulder seam of anything sold as waterproof. Sealing tape feels like a smooth ribbon, and its absence means the shoulders leak first, right under backpack straps. Stretch the cuff and hem elastic and let go, as slack elastic vents warm air at both ends. Ask the child to reach overhead, where the hem should stay down rather than climbing to the ribs. Children's outerwear in US sizes 2T through 12 carries no drawstrings at the neck or hood, so cut out any cord you find on a secondhand coat.
Most coats are washed too rarely
Most coats are washed far too rarely. Dirt and body oil flatten insulation, so a fill coat cleaned once in midwinter really is warmer afterward, and a couple of dryer balls tumbling on low knock the clumps back apart. Fabric softener stays off every shell, because it clogs the finish that makes water bead. Reproof waterproof gear once a season with a wash-in or spray treatment, then give it fifteen minutes of gentle heat to wake the repellent finish up. Hang coats on broad hangers instead of hooks, which drag one shoulder out of shape across a winter. Dry gloves, hats and boot liners in moving air rather than on a radiator, since direct heat hardens coated palms and stiffens shell fabric until it cracks along the folds.
Buyer checklist
Before you buy kid's outerwear
For children, growth room matters, but safety and freedom of movement come first. Check the exact product and local requirements.
01
Check fit and movement
Allow practical growth room without loose cords, unstable footwear or excess fabric that can interfere with play or sleep.
02
Review age and safety information
Follow the stated age, weight and height ranges. Check current recall notices before buying used nursery or children's products.
03
Inspect attachments
Buttons, snaps, trims and drawstrings need extra attention on products for young children.
04
Choose realistic care
Washable, colorfast fabrics and replaceable parts are often more useful than delicate finishes.
One size up is the useful amount and two is not: zip the coat to the top and check the collar closes against the throat with no visible gap, because that gap is where warmth leaves.
Try the coat over the layer it will really be worn with, a fleece or a sweater, since a coat fitted over a t-shirt binds at the shoulders in January.
Ask for both arms straight overhead. A hem that climbs above the waistband is too short in the body, whatever number sits on the label.
Sleeves should still cover the wrist bone with arms held forward. Here, they sit on a bike, a scooter and a climbing frame, and where snow finds a gap.
Snow pants want to reach a few inches past the boot top so the cuff sits outside the boot and snow cannot pack in.
Coats never go inside a car seat harness. Buckle the child over indoor clothes, confirm you cannot pinch slack at the shoulder strap, then put the coat on backward over the buckled harness.
Care
Caring for kid's outerwear
Wash a fill coat once in the middle of the season, because dirt and body oil flatten insulation and a grimy coat really is colder than a clean one.
Tumble insulated coats on low with dryer balls until they are bone dry, since a damp clump of fill stays cold and starts to smell.
Fabric softener has no place on a shell, as it coats the surface that makes water bead and rain then soaks in instead of rolling off.
Reproof waterproof gear once a season with a wash-in or spray product, then run fifteen minutes of low heat, which reactivates the repellent finish.
Store coats clean and hanging on a broad hanger over summer, because compression in a bin flattens loft for good and stored body oil draws moths to anything wool.
Dry gloves, hats and boot liners in moving air rather than on a radiator, since direct heat shrinks and hardens a coated or leather palm.
Questions
Common questions
How much bigger should a kid's coat be?
One size up is the useful amount. Sleeves can be rolled and the body still closes properly at the neck, which is where warmth is lost. Two sizes up leaves gaps at the collar and cuffs. A coat that does not seal is not warm however much fill it has. Buy for the layer underneath rather than for next year.
Down or synthetic fill for children?
Synthetic, in most cases. It keeps insulating when wet, washes in an ordinary machine and costs far less to replace when a coat goes missing. Down is warmer for its weight and worth it for serious cold or for a coat that has to pack small. But it collapses when damp and needs careful washing that few families give it.
What is the difference between water-resistant and waterproof?
Water-resistant fabric has a finish that makes drops bead and roll off, which holds for a few minutes of drizzle and then wets through. Waterproof means the fabric is coated or laminated and the seams are taped, so water cannot pass through the cloth or the needle holes. Feel inside the shoulder seam for a smooth tape strip to tell them apart.
Can my child wear a winter coat in a car seat?
No thick coat belongs under a harness. Fill compresses in a crash and leaves the straps loose against the body. Buckle the child in indoor clothes, tighten until you cannot pinch slack at the shoulder strap, then put the coat on backward over the top or lay a blanket across. A thin fleece or a vest is fine underneath.
Do we still need snow pants if the coat is long?
For sitting in snow, yes. A parka covers the seat and thighs and keeps them warm. But it is not built to hold out water pressed against it for an hour of sledding. Snow pants add a waterproof layer with reinforced knees and seat, plus a cuff that sits over the boot so snow cannot pack into it.
Which layer goes with which temperature?
Between 55F and 65F, a windbreaker or a vest over a long sleeve does it. From 40F to 55F, reach for fleece, and add a shell over it once wind picks up. Below 40F, fill starts to matter: a puffer for a moving child, a parka for one standing still outdoors. Snow or rain adds a sealed outer layer at any of those points.
Why do children's coats have no drawstrings at the hood?
Cords at the neck or hood catch on playground equipment, bus doors and slides. Children's upper outerwear in US sizes 2T through 12 is made without them. Waist cords, where they appear, are kept short and sewn down at the center. Older hand-me-downs may still have a cord, and cutting it out takes ten seconds.
How do we stop losing gloves and hats?
Elastic clips threaded through the coat sleeves attach mittens to the coat rather than to the child. This is the only method that survives a school year. Buy the spare pair in October, since a replacement in a child's size is often sold out by January, and label everything, because a lost-property box is full of identical black gloves.
