American Sizes for Kids | US Children's Clothing Sizes

Shopping for children’s clothes in American Sizes is difficult. Add to that is the rapid growth of kids, the ever-changing fashion trends and the differences in sizing for different brands in different countries. And then, when you’re buying it online, the real challenge begins. We totally get that it could be a nightmare, so we’re giving you this guide to help you shop children’s clothes from anywhere more easily! From clothing and shoe size guides, to tips to find the right fit, and conversions from US, UK, and EU, we got it all for you. Shop worry-free now and more efficiently!

Contents

At a Glance

American sizes for kids clothes, like the UK and Australian sizes, are generally based on age. Clothes for infants, toddlers, small kids, and big kids also use age as classification. But to accurately find the right fit, measuring your child’s height, weight, hips, chest, and waist is still best recommended.
Girls and boys over 7 years old use different size charts anticipating the variation in growth as boys tend to grow taller and more rapidly than girls at some point.
While very useful guides, international conversion charts show approximate sizes only and should not be taken as absolute measures. Different brands also have their own size standards so it is always best to check first.
American shoe sizes for kids are normally measured in inches, unlike Euro measurements which are reflected in centimeters.

American Sizes

Children clothes sizes in the United States are all based on age whether, for toddlers, small kids or big children and these correspond to a specific height (in inches) and weight (in pounds). As children’s body develops, sizes also start including measurements for chest, waist, and hips. For the big kids, the size guide for the girls is different from the boys.

US Children’s Clothing Sizes

Use the size chart below to determine the US size for toddlers and small kids. Sizes are based on weight and height and the “T” next to the numbers means “Toddler”. Little boys and girls still have the same sizes in this category since both are yet to develop slender or more muscular built for men and women. The difference usually starts at size 7.

US Size	Height (inches)	Weight (lbs)
2T	33 - 35	24 - 28
3T	36 - 38.5	28.5 - 32
4T	39 - 41	33 - 36
4	42 - 44	37 - 41
5	45 - 47	42 - 46
6	48 - 49	47 - 53
6x (girls) / 7 (boys)	50 - 51	54 - 58

Girls Shirt/Top/Dress Size Chart (7-14 years old)

US Size	S-XL	Height (inches)	Chest (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)
7	S	51 - 52	26.5	23	28
8	S	53 - 54	27.5	23.5	29
10	M	55 - 57	29	24.5	30.5
12	L	58 - 59	30.5	25.5	32.5
14	L	60 - 62	32	26.5	34.5
16	XL	63 - 64	33.5	27.5	36.5

Boys Shirt/Top Size Chart (8-16 years old)

US Size	S-XL	Height (inches)	Chest (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)
8	S	50 - 53	27	23.5	27.5
10	M	54 - 57	28.5	25	29.5
12	M	58 - 60	30	26	31.5
14	L	61 - 63	32	27	33.5
16	L	64 - 65	33.5	28	35.5
18	XL	65 - 66	35	29	37.5
20	XL	67 - 68	37	30	39.5

US Children’s Jeans Size Chart

American kid’s jean sizes are normally in inches and traditionally based on the age, weight, and inseam (length of the distance from the waist down to the feet). Use the size chart below to find the perfect jeans size for your kids.

Tip: The unit of the length is always measured in inches and the weight in pounds for US sizing. The letter “T” in the clothes sizes stands for “Toddler”.

Toddlers & Small Kids Jeans Size Chart (General)

US Size	US Alpha Size	Age (years)	Length (inches)	Weight (lbs)
2T	2T	2	33 - 35	24 - 29
3T	3T	3	35 - 38	29 - 33
4T	4T	4	39 - 41	33 - 37.5
4	S	3-4	42 - 44	37.5 - 42
5	M	4-5	45 - 47	42 - 46
6	L	5-6	48 - 49	46 - 53
7	XL	6-7	50 - 51	53 - 58

Girls Jeans Size Chart (7-16 years old)

US Size	US Alpha Size	Age (years)	Height (inches)	Chest (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)
7	S	6 - 7	51 - 52	26 - 27	22.5	28
8	S	7 -8	53 - 54	27 - 28.5	23.5	29
10	M	8 - 9	55 - 56	28.5 - 29.5	24.5	30
12	M	10 - 11	57 - 59	30 - 31	25.5	31 - 32
14	L	11 - 12	60 - 62	31 - 32	26.5	33 - 34
16	XL	12 - 13	63 - 64	33 - 34	27.5	35 - 36

Boys Jeans Size Chart (8-20 years old)

US Size	US Alpha Size	Age (years)	Height (inches)	Chest (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)
8	S	7 -8	50 - 53	27 - 28	23 - 24	28
10	S	8 - 9	54 - 57	28.5 - 30	24 - 25	29
12	M	10 - 11	58 - 60	30 - 31	25.5 - 26.5	30
14	M	11 - 12	61 - 63	31 - 32	26.5 - 28	31 - 32
16	L	12 - 13	64 - 65	33 - 34	28 - 29	33 - 34
18	XL	13 - 14	65 - 66	34 - 35	29 - 30	35 - 36
20	XL	14	66 - 67	35 - 36	30 - 31	35 - 36

How to Measure your Kid’s Sizes:

To find the most accurate fit of clothes for your child, measure their hips, chest, and waist properly. Keep a note of the measurements of your child on a piece of paper or your phone. This will surely help you in getting the perfect fitting clothes and shoes whenever you buy either online or in physical stores.

It is still the best to have your child try on the clothes or shoes to know for sure if it fits or not, but if you will buy online, or if your child is not around, it is best to get their accurate measurements and be guided by the clothing and shoe sizes guide which we provided.

To take your child’s measurements, follow these simple steps:

Get a pen, a piece of paper and a measuring tape. Then have your child to stand with feet together and heels and back on the wall.
To get your child’s height, measure from the floor to the top of the head.
To find the chest measurement, have your kid’s arms relaxed on the sides then measure the fullest part of the chest.
For the waist, measure around the waist (not over pants) at the child’s natural waist near the belly button.
To get the measurement of your kid’s hips, wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of the hips.

To measure your child’s inseam:

Inseam is the measurement of the inner seam of pants between the crotch area and the ankle.
Using a measuring tape, have your child stand straight with legs slightly apart, and record the measurement of the distance just below groin area to the edge of the ankle.
Record the measurement inches.

Tip: If you have very active children and you can’t seem to make them stand still, an alternative way to measure the inseam is by taking the measurement of the inner seam of the pants that fit them instead. Measure the pants from the groin to the hem.

US Kids Shoe Size Chart

Shoe sizes in the US are normally measured in inches. To measure the size of the feet that would determine the equivalent shoe size based on shoe size guides, measure the distance from the longest toe to the heel of the foot.

Kids Shoe Size Chart (General)

US Shoe Size	Foot Length (inches)	Foot Length (cm)
4C	4.56	11.4
5C	4.88	12.1
6C	5.23	13
7C	5.55	14
8C	5.90	14.6
9C	6.22	15.6
10C	6.57	16.5
11C	6.89	17.1
11.5C	7.08	17.8
12C	7.24	18.1
12.5C	7.40	18.4
13C	7.56	19.1
13.5C	7.62	19.4
1Y	8	19.7
2Y	8.13	20.6
3Y	8.5	21.6
4Y	8.75	22.2
5Y	9.13	23.2
6Y	9.5	24.1
7Y	9.75	24.8

How to Measure your Child’s Shoe Size

To measure your child’s feet size, follow the simple steps below:

- Make your child stand, with one foot on a blank paper.
- Mark the point of the tip of the longest toe and back of the heel.
- Use a ruler to measure the distance between the marks.
- Measure both feet. Give an allowance of about half an inch between the end of the longest, fully extended toe and the end of the shoe to give your kid’s foot a breather when running or walking.

Tip: Kids grow increasingly fast so always remember to update the measurement of your kid’s foot size every two to four months as they tend to grow half a size larger every three months on average.

Shoe sizes may vary across different brands. Some brands have smaller sizes than the others depending on the sizing guide used and style. Remember, size charts are only used as a guide. It is approximate measurements and not absolute. It is still best to either use the size guide of the brand which you are going to buy from or have your kid actually fit the shoes first.

What are American sizes?

American clothes sizes for kids are all based on age whether, for toddlers, small kids or big children and these correspond to a specific height (in inches) and weight (in pounds). Kinderzeit.org has more details about American sizes and international conversions for kids.

What is the difference between UK and US sizes?

American sizes for kids clothes, like in the UK and Australian sizes, are generally based on age. Clothes for infants, toddlers, small kids, and big kids also use age as classification. For conversion charts, visit kinderzeit.org.

What’s my US size?

To find your child’s US size, it is important to know their height, weight, hips, chest, and waist for best fit. You may also use the free conversion charts at kinderzeit.org.

What are US kids shoe size?

US shoe sizes for kids are normally measured in inches, unlike Euro measurements which are reflected in centimeters. Kinderzeit.org has more detailed discussion and free charts on US shoe sizes.