Kids size chart by age and height: baby, toddler, youth, EU, UK and US sizes

A kids size chart turns a child's age, height and weight into a clothing size. The number that works across brands and countries is height. In Europe the size label is the height in centimetres, so an EU 116 is made for a child up to 116 cm (45.5 in) tall, which is a 5-6 years in the UK and a US 6.

Below are size charts for babies (newborn to 24 months), toddlers (2T to 5T) and big kids (4 to 14, youth XS to XL), an EU to US conversion table, the difference between 24 months and 2T, and how to measure a child at home. The last part is for Shopify stores that sell kids' clothes.

Kids size chart by age: how the systems work

Three systems cover most kids' clothes you will find online:

• US uses months for babies (NB, 3M to 24M), T sizes for toddlers (2T to 5T), then plain numbers (4 to 14 or 16) and youth letters (XS to XL). The numbers roughly follow age, but brands set them by height and weight.
• UK uses age labels: 0-3 months, 2-3 years, 9-10 years. Some brands sell single years (5 years) for fitted clothes and two-year sizes (5-6 years) where there is room, as Boden explains.
• EU (Germany, France, Spain, the Nordics and most of Europe) uses the child's height in cm: 56, 62, 68 and up for babies, then 92, 98, 104 and up in 6 cm steps. The European standard EN 13402 makes height the primary measurement for children's clothes, as Wikipedia's summary of EN 13402 shows, and Zara labels its baby sizes the same way, for example 3-6 months, 68 cm.

Because the EU number is a height, it is the easiest one to convert. Measure the child and you have the EU size.

Baby size chart: newborn to 24 months

US baby sizes from Carter's, with its height and weight ranges:

European and UK baby sizes are set by height. Boden gives a maximum height for each age label, and those heights are the EU sizes:

Look at the last rows. A child who wears Carter's 24M is at most 86 cm tall, which Boden calls 12-18 months. US baby labels tend to name the age a size ends at, UK labels name the age range, so compare heights and ignore the months. Boden also lists maximum weights for babies (4.5 kg for newborn up to 12 kg for 12-18 months), useful for a baby who is long and light or short and heavy.

Toddler size chart and 24 months vs 2T

Toddler sizes run from 2T to 5T. Here is where Carter's and Gerber differ:

Whether 24 months is the same as 2T depends on the brand. At Gerber, by height and weight, it is, and its chart has a single "24M / 2T" row. At Carter's, it is not. Its guide to 24 months vs 2T says 24M is made for children about 18 to 24 months old with room for diapers, while 2T is for older toddlers, 35 to 36.5 inches, with a leaner waist and no diaper room. Carter's sums it up as diaper-friendly against potty-ready.

In practice, if the child is still in diapers, buy 24M. If they are potty trained and taller than about 34 in (86 cm), buy 2T. Carter's also suggests sizing up to 2T if a growth spurt is coming.

Youth size chart: kids 4 to 14 and XS to XL

After the T sizes come the kids' numbers and youth letters. Carter's ranges:

Two things to know before you trust a youth letter:

• Youth letters are brand rules. At Carter's, M is one size (8) and L covers two (10 and 12). Other brands draw the lines elsewhere, so a "youth medium" from a sports brand and one from a baby brand are not the same shirt.
• US numbers drift between brands too. The older US standard tables in Wikipedia's US clothing size article put a girls' 12 at 60 in and a 14 at 64 in. Carter's 12 stops at 58 in. Wikipedia itself warns that sizes vary by manufacturer, sometimes by a full inch.

UK and EU kids size chart by age and height

Boden publishes body measurements in cm for each age. The EU column is the same height, which is how EU sizes are labelled:

From 12-13 years Boden gives separate chest and waist values for girls and boys. At 13-14 years (164 cm) the chest is 83 cm for girls and 86 cm for boys. Our own Plainfee kids template uses the same age to height pairs, with chest and waist up to 3 cm smaller than Boden's, which shows how much brands vary on girth. If a child is slim or broad, height picks the size and chest decides whether to go up.

Kids size chart EU to US: conversion table

To convert, match the height. Each EU size below is placed against the Carter's size whose height range contains it:

Where the table says "4T or 4", both sizes fit that height. Carter's lists 4T at 39 to 41.5 in and a kids' 4 at 40 to 42.5 in. The cut differs by brand, so read the product's fit note before choosing.

For adult conversions, see our clothing size conversion chart for US, UK, EU and Asian sizes.

Kids shoe sizes, briefly

Kids' shoes use a different scale. US sizes run in C (child) from 1C to 13½C, then restart in Y (youth) from 1Y to 7Y, and the UK series also restarts at 1. Size by foot length, not age. Our shoe size chart for women, men and kids has the full toddler, little kid and big kid table with foot length in cm and inches.

How to measure a child for clothes

You need a soft tape measure and two minutes. Steps 1 to 4 follow Boden's guide; step 5 is for trousers.

1. Height. Shoes off, back against a wall, from the top of the head to the floor. Mark the wall with a book laid flat on the head. For a baby who can't stand yet, measure lying down, from the top of the head to the heel.
2. Chest. Around the fullest part of the chest, under the arms, tape level.
3. Waist. Around the natural waist. Boden's trick is to ask the child to bend to the side. The crease is the waist.
4. Hips. Around the fullest part of the bottom.
5. Inseam, for trousers. From the crotch to the floor along the inside of the leg, shoes off. Or measure the inside leg of a pair of trousers that fits well.

Measure over underwear, not clothes. Then use height first, chest and waist second.

Buying kids' clothes as a gift: when to size up

Gift buyers rarely know the child's height, and kids keep growing between Black Friday and the day the gift is worn. A few rules:

• Size for the wearing date, not today. In Boden's chart, kids sizes from 2 to 12 years go up 6 cm per size and roughly one size per year. Baby sizes move every three months up to a year.
• Between two sizes, take the larger one. That is also the tip in our own kids' chart template, and Carter's suggests sizing up from 24M to 2T before a growth spurt.
• Ask for height, not age. A tall 4-year-old may already be in a 5-6 years. One text to the parent saves a return.
• Keep the gift receipt. Holiday gifts are often exchanged in January, which is the next section's problem.

For Shopify kids' clothing stores

We build Shopify apps, including a size chart app. This is what we would set up first in a kids' store before the holidays.

Name variants with the system and the age

Shopify allows up to three options and 2,048 variants per product, so you have room to be clear:

Use the same format on every product, because filters, feeds and AI shopping agents read variant names as data.

Show the shopper's own system, with height

A parent in Berlin thinks in 116, one in Leeds in 5-6 years, one in Ohio in 6 or 5T. Shopify themes can read the storefront country from the Liquid localization.country object, which lets a size chart put the right column first. Always add height in cm and inches, because it is the one column every parent can check.

If you sell second-hand or vintage kids' clothes, or brands you can't verify, publish garment measurements taken flat. Our guide to garment measurements and pit to pit charts shows how to label them. If you are building your first table, see how to make a size chart.

Plainfee Size ChartsSize charts that show every shopper their own country's sizes, with how-to-measure steps in 31 languages.See how it works

Plainfee Size Charts has ready-made kids' clothing and baby clothing charts by age, EU size and height, and a kids' shoes chart with EU, UK, US, JP and KR sizes and foot length. On charts with several countries' sizes, such as kids' shoes, each shopper sees their own system first (44 countries), and with Find your size a parent picks the size they know and the matching row lights up. The chart can sit on the product page or open in a popup, and a per-product fit note ("Runs small, size up") appears above it. The free plan covers 3 live charts, and Pro is a flat $14.99 a month with no fees per order. Kiwi Size Chart has a fit recommender, which we do not offer; our comparison of Shopify size chart apps covers it and others.

Plan returns for gift season

• Say how it fits. "Generous fit, room to grow" or "slim, size up" next to the size picker answers the question before the order.
• Extend the window for gifts. Shopify's return rules set the return window, return shipping and restocking fees, with overrides for specific collections or products, so a holiday collection can get a longer window.
• Make exchanges easy. A size swap keeps the sale. If you charge for returns, our comparison of Shopify return fees shows what other stores do.

A quick checklist before you publish a kids' product

• Variant values name the system (EU 116, US 6, 24M), not a bare number.
• The chart shows height in cm and inches for every size.
• 24M and 2T are explained if you sell both.
• Shoppers see their own size system first.
• Measuring steps are next to the size picker.
• A fit note says whether to size up.
• Gift returns have a clear window.

A 116, a 5-6 years and a US 6 are three names for the same child. Give parents the height, their own name for it and a way to measure, and the gift fits on the day it is opened.

Frequently asked questions