I'm sorry to tell you this...

... but it's time to think about your kids' summer clothes

“Oh no, but why?” you say, dragging your fingernails down your face.

Well, okay you don’t have to do it right not this second, but if you leave it too long, I guarantee key items will be sold out and they do not tend to bother to re-stock childrenswear . Also, this is a subject that obsesses me. In the same way that I am thinking about Christmas on September 1, I am thinking about children’s summer clothes now.

I understand that I am possibly in the minority in how much I care about how much children look. I don’t mean I want them in Gucci trainers and Ray Bans, but I don’t want them slopping about looking a mess, which they would be delighted to do. I also want it to be very easy for them to get dressed so that they can do it on their own and arrive in the kitchen in an outfit that will not make me scream WHY ARE YOU WEARING THAT?

Neither of my children have any strong ideas about what they do want to wear, only what they do not want to wear. So it has been up to me to intuit off-duty clothes that are practical and suit their personalities.

Sam will be 11 this year and has always been most happy in some sort of sports uniform. He most craved full football strip: top, shorts and socks - but while I think that looks sweet on five year-olds, he is now too old for this. So for the last few summers, in the rare minutes when he is not in full cricket kit, I put him in Nike Dri-Fit Academy t-shirts and shorts, sports socks and trainers. This is like a football strip, but crucially not actually a football strip. I think the key thing for him is that it all has the Nike tick on it and feels of a piece. I don’t want to see literally everything through a gender prism, but is this cleaving to signage/livery/branding a peculiarly male thing or what?

Anyway these kits are very light and excellent for the summer months, can be boil washed and are actually reasonably smart. Ideal for travelling. For extra points, get the Nike sports socks, too.

When Sam must be wrestled out of sports kit and into normal civvies, H&M chino shorts and a polo shirt win every time. Or these shorts are good, too.

Both my children spend a lot of the summer in pool slides. We have tried various brands and have found some of them weirdly uncomfortable. The Everlast ones suit the wild variations of Coren feet best. Kitty has the very long, slender feet of my father and Sam has the almost completely square feet of, I don’t know - a mole? The Everlast slides do not shoot off the end of the foot or promote blisters. Get yours here.

Otherwise, Kitty spends most of the summer in Tevas - you do really need to be quick off the mark with these because in my experience they are real bastards for selling out and not re-stocking.

If you have a teen or pre-teen with problematic feet - hates shoes generally, sweaty feet, constant blisters etc - I recommend Allbirds. They are not cheap, but they are insanely comfortable and these can be worn without socks and repeatedly chucked in the washing machine with excellent results.

Kitty needs stout shorts and trousers for the summer, but objects to the pink hot shorts covered in diamanté etc that litter most girlswear departments.

Marks and Spencer is very good for teen and pre-teen basics, you just go to any women’s clothing item and select the Petit option in a size 6 and that will likely be a good fit on a standard 13 year old - for example these navy linen trousers or these green shorts. For daily wear, any old tie-dye, oversize t-shirt will do. For evening wear, Kitty cuts a dash in something like those linen trousers mentioned above, paired with a snazzy resort shirt. She has this exact one and it is terrific.

How about you? What are the summer children’s basics you find yourself buying in March? Or is it just me.