A Pediatric Occupational Therapist Shares Her Biggest Pet Peeve: Kids Wearing Jeans

Pediatric occupational therapists do so much good for our kids. Whether working in schools or in our homes, they help our kids stay healthy, learn, and thrive. And they have a huge knowledge base, both from their training and their education and from just spending a lot of time working with kiddos. In other words: it’s worth listening to them when they’ve got some simple advice for parents.

One children’s occupational therapist, Kali (@Kali.ot on TikTok) made a short video to share one simple way that parents can prepare their kids to have the best day possible: don’t put your little kids in jeans.

“Little kids wearing jeans is probably my biggest pet peeve,” she begins. “I think jeans are so uncomfortable, especially for little kids. And look: jeans are so cute, so I totally get dressing your kids up, putting them in jeans. But when you send them to school, it makes them uncomfortable.”

Of course, this is not a hard and fast rule. She adds that if you do decide that you want your kid in jeans, just think about how they feel before your buy them.

“If it is jeans, make sure the texture is comfortable for them. Make sure it’s stretchy,” she qualifies. “The worst feeling is having your stomach squeezed all day, especially when you’re a kid, especially when you’re a kid with sensory needs. It’s probably very uncomfortable.”

Her best advice is to simply have some empathy and think about the best way you could learn, especially if you’re working on motor skills and movement at school.

“I like to put myself in their shoes and think about how they would feel,” she concludes. “I hate wearing jeans, so don’t send your kids to school in jeans.”

All of this was in response to a viewer comment from an earlier video, which read, “I still remember the days of my mom yelling at me for not wanting to wear jeans at a young age.”

Down in the comments, parents were torn between their love of denim and the new era of soft pants that came with the pandemic.

Many agreed with the therapist, sharing how uncomfortable denim is to wear regularly.

“I hate hard pants,” wrote one mom. “Hated them as a kid. Having my kids be comfortable is my priority.”

“I have never put my kids in jeans,” said another mom. “They have one pair for dress-up occasions and that’s all.”

“Mine refuses to wear them,” another added. “Sweat pants 110% of the time.”

But other defended jeans for a number of reasons.

“Kids jeans have elastic waists and are 95% spandex,” one mom offered.

Another mom cited other advantages of denim: “I put my kids in jeans because it prevents scraped knees and concrete burns,” she explained. “If I could post a picture of one week use of sweat pants, it would look like a motorcycle accident.”

Other parents said their kids prefer jeans, and that’s that.

The bottom line here doesn’t seem to be about whether jeans are good or bad, but simply about taking a moment to think about how comfortable your kid is at school — and making sure that they feel good in what they’re wearing. Whatever that might be.