Do Kids Wear Underwear Under a Leotard?

Seeing your excited child dressed up in her leotard and ready to go to her dance or gymnastics class can put a smile on your face. However, if you’re unsure whether you should put another protective layer underneath that outfit, you may be a bit hesitant to send her out sans underwear. With the right outfit and amount of layers on your child, you can focus on her moves instead of her second set of cheeks.

When Not to Wear

Under normal circumstances, the choice is really up to you on whether you want to put underwear on your child under her leotard or not. Leotards are meant to be form fitting. They are built like a swimming suit and are normally worn like one -- without underwear. If your child’s leotard is the right size, she shouldn’t need any undies underneath.

When to Wear

You may come across a few instances where underwear is the way to go. If your child’s dance or gymnastics company has a policy about wearing underwear, follow their rules and put some on her. If the leotard tends to creep up and give her wedgies, you may want to put some underwear on her first or simply get a better fitting leotard.

Underwear Tips

If you do choose to put some underwear on your child before dressing her in the leotard, consider a couple of tips 1. The underwear should be snug, not extremely tight, loose or bulky. A nude or neutral color blends in better if her underwear does stick out a bit when she’s moving around. Some sports underwear is specifically designed for this purpose, so check out a sporting goods store if you’d like.

Other Options

If you are still unsure about whether or not to bust on the underwear before dance or gymnastics class, you do have other options. Tights are an option, if the dance or gymnastic company is okay with it 1. Sometimes it makes it harder to spot or assist the kids if they are wearing slippery tights 1. Tights provide a clean line and are a reasonable alternative to underwear. Tight fitting gymnastic or dance shorts with underwear also works.