Socks? Yes, socks. I’m talking baby socks, toddler socks, preschool socks, and all manner of little kid socks from infant on up. I realize in confessing this, I might sound a little crazy. But the truth is that I only buy certain makes, models, and colors of socks and I’ve come to have very strong opinions about them. It’s the engineer in me; I can’t help it.
It all started innocently enough with my first little baby. We lucked into a dozen or so super awesome socks along with a mixed bag of other varieties. Then, inspired by an old Parent Hacks post, I began to look at the big picture.
Babies:
Trumpette socks are the very best. They don’t fall off little feet and they come in cute mix-and-match colors and patterns. Buy a dozen – yes they cost more! – and be done. You’re welcome.
They come in skater vans, Mary Janes, + lots more varieties
Toddlers and Preschoolers:
Gap makes the best triple-roll socks for this age group. I suggest you buy 10 or so in the same color and never worry about matching socks again. Yes, I color-code my kids. Currently Holden wears grey and Milo wears red. (His choice, not mine.) The basic colors and grippy writing on the bottom of the foot make these little guys great for new walkers and the kids who like to sprint through my kitchen. I prefer to buy dark colors to hide the playground dirt better. Old Navy ones are decent, but I’ve found that sharp little toenails make holes in these socks faster than the Gap variety. Visit the gap.com baby socks selection.
Big preschoolers on up:
My friend Alissa turned me on to Children’s Place as the best place to get solid colored socks. Around shoe size 11, Gap socks veer away from the solid colors with the grippy bottoms toward something else entirely. See the boy/girl solid socks assortment hidden under accessories at childrensplace.com.
Is there a topic you have irrationally strong opinions about? Bring it.
i share your strong feelings about socks, but in a different way. i only buy one kind of sock for my son (boring white crew socks). that way i’m not left with all those, albeit cute, single socks that have somehow lost their mates. if a sock gets a hole in it, it will pair up nicely with one of its clones and no one will know the difference.
Love it. I was very happy to see that we have the EXACT same choices for socks. I am amazed and also feeling very validated in being so picky.
I am irrationally particular about pajamas. I haven’t even found one store that consistently meets my very high standards. Gap pretty consistently does a good job, but honestly the all cotton Carters (thank you for being so cheap) are my tried and true favorites. I have been known to give away pajamas if I feel they contributed to a horrible night sleep. I’m not messing around.
Thanks for sharing!
I totally agree with the Gap and the Children’s place. I haven’t tried your first selection yet, maybe with the next baby!
My irrational thoughts are all about germs really. I don’t let my kids get in their beds in “street clothes”, as in clothes that they’ve worn and played in at the playground or gone to the grocery store in. If I’ve been out and about all day, I make sure I change my clothes before I get them out of the bath and put their jammies on. Wierdo? Most likely, drives my husband crazy.
@Terra, I have a thing about jammies/germs, too. I make my kids wear new jammies every night. I didn’t know why I did that but when I finally thought about it, I realized I was thinking if there is a potential ear infection or something lurking in the used jammies, I’d rather avoid it by using a fresh pair each night.
The trumpette ones dont cut into those tiny chubby legs? I have Ten wk old son (our first) and I feel like All of his socks cut in and leave little red dents! The trumpette ones looked to me like they would do that, so I have yet to try them!
Great question @Sarah, to be honest, neither of my sons had particularly chubby legs so I can’t be sure. Maybe start with a half dozen?
I respect your choices @Sunny but I can’t imagine buying my sons white socks anytime in the next few years; the kids get them FILTHY.
This is so timely as I need to buy socks for my growing toddler and a newborn. Thanks!
We love Gymboree socks around here, too ….
Couldn’t agree more with the Trumpette socks for baby. I got a box of assorted colors as a shower gift. At the time, one of my less exciting acquisitions. But, as it turned out, we got so much use out of those socks! They worked well for my son’s chubby ankles, too. A lot of other socks seemed to be cutting off his circulation.
@sunny, we call that the “sock system” around our house. My husband does this with all of his socks, white t-shirts and undies. When one of the categories starts wearing out, we throw ALL of them out and get new ones. I thought he was crazy at first, but it works splendidly.
I started looking around on-line for the adorable trumpette socks (I’m 24 weeks and expecting twin boys – first pregnancy!) and saw LOTS of cute varieties. But. Are they really, like, $25 bucks per pair????? That is an insane amount of money to spend on a pair of baby socks. Unless they are filled with gold coins and laced with diamonds, I might have to stick with the cheap-o’s.
My daughter must be special. I spent two hours backtracking around the zoo looking for a lost pink Trumpette mary jane sock when she was about 5 months old. They didn’t stay on better than the cheap ones, but I felt more strongly about trying to hang onto them. I was better off with the ones from the Target dollar bins.
Children’s Place triple roll socks are pretty good, too. We’ve had some of them through two kids now.
I admire you for going all one color. It took me until my son was 3 to stop matching socks to his outfits. We’ll see how long I hold out with my daughter.
@ Elisa
They usually come in a box of (I think) six pairs.
Ugh, I just had sweet Chinese grandmas scold me about socks. I use the smart wool ones (it is cold here in Alaska) and they never stay on…so baby always has exposed toes. I do use babylegs leg warmers that are adorable and mostly cover her toes too! Plus the leg warmers protect her little knees since she is determined to crawl but can’t so just ends up with blanket burn.
Connor just got a set of the exact same Trumpette socks in the picture – monkeys on socks of varying colors (I’m not trying to be cutesy about it. My parents bought the socks for him). Love ‘em!
My little one got given so many pairs of pants when she was born, but I never put her in them as then she had to have socks and those darn socks just popped off two minutes later. I was googling how to keep socks on a baby (obviously the Internet is the answer to everything!) and came across baby undersocks – they are fabulous! Not only solve the sock problem but keep legs cozy too
http://www.babyundersocks.com/
We use baby undersocks too. We bought ours on amazon. (amazon link made tiny: http://tinyurl.com/769kzbd)
Oh, and one thing I like about them that I didn’t expect–they not only keep socks on baby feet but they keep them on straight. Before my son’s socks were always either half-way coming off, or turned upside down or sideways. These keep socks on the right way–no messing with them, no looking for lost ones or putting them back on ten times, its great.
I need more durable socks than Gap for my 3-three-year-old son. Gap ones keep getting holes in the bottom and I’m tired of it! The REI brand are super awesome but way too expensive for me. Which are most durable?
I came across this post in search of “the best socks for children.” I am utterly fed up with our current sock situation. I have tried a number of brands with varying success. The long/ triple roll socks (in a different brand) do not work for my 3 year old who has chubby little rectangles for feet. She can easily pull on shorter socks, but cannot wiggle her feet through a long tube and gets frustrated.
I am also completely done with matching socks. I switched all mine to one color/style and plan to ditch every pair of socks my children own (soon to be 3 girls) and start fresh with a no-nonsense all-the-same system. Now I just need to find the perfect ones for my 3 year olds rectangle feet and my 1 1/2 year old’s long and skinny little feet. Thanks for some suggestions on where to start!
[...] of the problem is that it’s hard to find baby socks that fit properly. Although lots of baby socks are cute, few have a snug fit that keeps them on in spite of grabby [...]