skinny children...

[peebles16]

It's just school shoes we really have a problem with and trainers - maybe I'm just not buying the right sort but they seem to fall to pieces after about 3-4 weeks As for fashion stakes, you're right, doesn't seem to matter here at all so much so I let OH dress the kids

Karenx

[willsken]

My sister is staying at the moment and her 7 year old daughter is already fitting in with the Kiwi attitude. Oh mum, course I don't need to get changed... no one cares here!

[hosebergine]

Thanks for all the suggestions - I know it sounds a shallow thing to worry about but she really is tiny. I managed to get her one pair of shorts this year that didn't fall down and they were a pair of trousers 2 ages too small that I cut off. Trust me, this isn't about fashion, it is about non-exposure of bottoms!

The italian shoes I have found are Naturino - there is one style which seems to fit. They are very narrow, smart trainers with double velcro which allow more adjustment. Her feet are both narrow and shallow which compounds the problem

[veronica]

I had two girls like that many moons ago, best thing I can say is let them do the kiwi thing and run around with no shoes. that tends to allow the feet to spread a bit and makes it a bit easier to fit. I did go thru a phase when I could only get the youngest one the sandels with the adjustable strap over the front of the foot to fit, luckily it was in the summer.

[JandM]

My son when a child was always too tall for trousers that were the right size round the body. I used to have to buy things the right length, and then undo the side seams and take them in. He used to watch me at the sewing machine, always having been interested in mechanical things. One time when he was 12 and we'd bought the new term's school uniform, I took him and the shopping home, and then had to go out again to a meeting. At tea-time, I said, 'I'll have to take in your new trousers when we've cleared the table,' and he said, 'It's okay - I did them while you were out.' And he had, and they were fine.

[hosebergine]

wow can I have your son for a weekend?! I'm ok at making clothes from patterns but I'm not that confident at deconstructing them. Plus there's the old rush of enthusiasm and then the lapse of excitement which results in several half-finished garments in my sewing box!

[JandM]

wow can I have your son for a weekend?!

I don't think he does much sewing these days - he's the one we hope to be following to NZ!