kids wearing undershirts

Tamiri

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 12:14 pm

mindyme wrote:

there are undershirt Tzitzes - undershirts with tzitzes attached. I don't use them, but since e/o here is saying that the tzitzes beged may not be next to the skin, I wonder why these are ok? Maybe bec only young (under 13 yo) boys wear them?

They are a garment with 4 corners and are perfectly kosher tzitzit for all ages, not just under 13. One of my boys wears them, the others prefer and undershirt and regular cotton tzitzit (not wool). The tzitzit are the strings, not the cloth, and they are the holy part of the garment. I don't think there is a problem halachically with wearing tzitzit with no undershirt, it's just not comfortable.

shalhevet

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 1:15 pm

Tamiri wrote:

mindyme wrote:

There is most definitely a halachic problem according to many authorities. A garment which absorbs sweat is not considered a 'beged'. CYLOR for his psak.

Tova

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 1:38 pm

My son doesn't wear undershirts in the summer; just a short-sleeved T or polo shirt (he does not wear tzitzis yet as he's not toilet trained). Sometimes he'll wear an undershirt as a pajama top.

My daughter wears one if she is wearing a shirt without sleeves - for some reason a lot of her summer wardrobe is sleeveless or sun-dress type things. I had a hard time finding shirts for her with sleeves in the Target type stores in which I shop. My husband is very makpid that she not be sleeveless (she's 20 months) so the undershirts work well.

sky

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 5:40 pm

ds who wears tzitzis wears an undershirt.

I'd like ds #2 to wear a onsie because he will sometimes take off his pants and diaper. He has not figured out the onsie yet. But I'm trying not to now because it is so hot, and he goes swimming by daycare and I feel bad the lady in charge should have an extra layer.

dd has not been wearing lately (8 months)

Atali

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 6:18 pm

Tova wrote:

I also put a top under DD's dress when it is sleeveless, but I never considered that an undershirt since it is part of her outfit. I always considered an undershirt to be something that isn't really seen like the ones under my boys' tzitzis.

DrMom

Mon, Jul 26 2010, 9:43 pm

mindyme wrote:

there are undershirt Tzitzes - undershirts with tzitzes attached. I don't use them, but since e/o here is saying that the tzitzes beged may not be next to the skin, I wonder why these are ok?

I wondered about this too (my older son wears them, no additional undershirt in the hot Israeli summers).

mindyme wrote:

Maybe bec only young (under 13 yo) boys wear them?

Maybe... But I have seen them in adult sizes as well.

cinnamon

Tue, Jul 27 2010, 2:16 am

undershirts is a big machloket between me and my mom. She thinks a child must always wear an undershirt no matter how hot it is. I think that a three year old in the hot israeli summer should wear as less as possible.
Every time I come to her she checks if dd and ds are wearing undershirts and when she sees that they are not she actually gets upset at me.
I nod and smile and she knows I will totally ignore her. It has become a tradition of sorts Smile

Sometimes if we are going specifically from home to her. I will put them on undershirts to make her happy and it really does make her happy.

In the winter they usually wear undershirts unless I didn't do laundry on time and ran out and then I'll put them on an extra shirt. (If my mother happens to realize this happened I will get a stern talking to and a new undershirt for each kid because according to her a shirt is not the same as an undershirt Smile

)

When ds starts to wear tzitzis he will have to wear undershirts all the time but we are still two years awya from that.

Mommeeeeeeee!

Tue, Jul 27 2010, 7:54 am

I have been wondering about this! When I was growing up, no one ever went without an undershirt. Now, it seems very few kids wear them, especially in the summer. I have found that it is even getting difficult to find them in the stores. Personally I like my kids to wear them. It's an extra layer to absorb the sweat so they don't get gross stains (or worse, smells) on their shirts, it's more modest so you can't see through their shirt, or if their shirt picks up or they pick it up as toddlers often do, at least you can't see their tummies (the undershirt stays tucked in), and it's more comfortable since it separates their skin from the seams, tags, waistbands, zippers, and occasional not-so-soft fabrics of their clothing. Plus I feel they aren't fully dressed if they are lacking that layer. After all, you wouldn't let them go out without underpants, even if they are wearing pants or tights, would you? But maybe it's just because that's how I was raised.
I confess ds did go without an undershirt for a little while when he was out of onesies but I couldn't find any undershirts that fit him and didn't hang down to his knees, but as soon as I found them, he started to wear them again.