Baby Shorts

When babies start wearing shorts depends on diapers. During the diaper-wearing stage, shorts need to fit over the bulky bottom, and the leg openings can't be too tight. Once potty training begins, shorts need to be easy to pull on and off, with elastic waistbands loose enough that children can pull them down themselves. These two stages have completely different requirements for shorts, but they're sold mixed together on store shelves, and labels don't distinguish between them. Parents only discover after buying that the diaper won't fit inside, or the waistband is too tight for the child to pull down on their own.

Bloomer pants are called "kabocha pants" (かぼちゃパンツ) in Japan, meaning pumpkin pants. The leg openings are loose and gathered at the thigh, accommodating even the bulkiest diapers. Nearly every Japanese mom has several pairs. Uniqlo, Nishimatsuya, and Akachan Honpo all sell them. This style came to China where it's called "PP pants" or "bread pants"—search on Taobao and you'll find tons. The North American market doesn't favor this design much. Carter's and Gerber baby shorts still use traditional cuts with straight or slightly wide leg openings, which dig into thighs during the diaper stage.

Drawstrings deserve their own discussion. Before 2011, there were accidents involving drawstrings on children's clothing in America—hoodie drawstrings strangling necks, pants drawstrings getting caught on playground equipment. The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) issued warnings, and the industry began self-regulation. Infant and toddler clothing basically stopped using drawstrings. But online products from small workshops still have drawstring designs—cheap and nice-looking, but parents don't know the risks. Legitimate brand baby shorts now all use full elastic waistbands or internal adjustable waistbands that aren't exposed.

For materials, pure cotton is most common. Organic cotton costs 20-30% more, but average parents can't perceive any real difference in actual wear. Polyester blends are cheap and wash-resistant but don't breathe, causing a bottom full of heat rash in summer. Baby skin is thin and sweats a lot—breathability matters much more than for adults. The cheap stuff at Target and Walmart often has high polyester content, the label text is small, and it's easy to overlook if you don't look carefully.

Japan has a saying: "no pants before age three"—older generations believed bare legs and bottoms were good for child development. Nobody actually raises kids that way anymore, but Japanese baby shorts designs are indeed shorter and looser than Western ones, with exposed thighs being no issue. Western baby shorts typically reach the knee or just above, while many Japanese styles only cover the diaper with thighs fully exposed. It's an aesthetic difference, but also a climate difference.

The distinction between boy and girl baby shorts is mainly in colors and patterns. The cut is virtually identical—infant body structures don't differ. But retailers insist on separating them: boys' section has blue dinosaurs and cars, girls' section has pink butterflies and flowers. Neutral colors like gray, beige, and green have increased in recent years. Primary, an American brand, specializes in pattern-free, logo-free basic children's clothing—baby shorts at thirteen dollars each, unisex, with many color options. Hanna Andersson is also pushing gender-neutral styles.

North American sizing uses months: 0-3M, 3-6M, 6-12M, and so on. Actual fit varies widely—chubbiness, leg length all have an effect. Even within the same brand, different styles have different fits. Carter's runs large, Gerber runs small, Gap is somewhere in between. Online baby shorts have high return rates, with sizing issues accounting for more than half.

Secondhand baby shorts have high circulation. They're outgrown in two or three months with no wear, wash them and they're ready to sell. Facebook Marketplace has many posts selling five pairs for ten Canadian dollars bundled together. Poshmark sells branded items individually—secondhand shorts from Hanna Andersson and Tea Collection are priced at about one-third of the original price.

Production is concentrated in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and China. A pair of baby shorts retailing for ten dollars might have a factory price under one dollar. In 2013, the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing over a thousand people—children's clothing was being made inside. After that, some brands began emphasizing supply chain transparency. Companies like Patagonia and Pact publicly list their factories. Most brands still don't disclose, and consumers don't ask.

Knee reinforcement is a design detail worth noting. Children who crawl and walk wear through their knees quickly. Carhartt's infant and toddler workwear pants have double-layer fabric at the knees for durability. Regular brands don't have this design—the first place pants wear through is definitely the knees. Those who care about durability can look for styles with knee reinforcement—spending a few extra dollars can mean several more weeks of wear.

Summer beach scenarios are a different story. Pure cotton shorts are uncomfortable when wet and dry slowly. Quick-dry fabric swim shorts with mesh lining—Speedo and Kanu Surf have infant and toddler versions, around twenty dollars. Wear these to the beach or pool, get wet and just let them air dry, no need to change.