Boxing Glove Sizes for Kids and Youth (Age and Weight Guide)

Buying a kid's first pair of boxing gloves is trickier than it looks, because ounce sizing that works for adults does not scale down cleanly for small hands. This guide breaks down what to buy by age and weight, and when to size up as your child grows.

Quick answer: Most kids start with 6 to 8 oz gloves for bag and pad work, then move to 8 to 10 oz once they begin light sparring. Very young or small children sometimes use 4 to 6 oz junior gloves for mitts and drills only. Skip the guesswork and use our free glove size calculator to get a number based on your child's actual weight and hand size.

How kids gloves differ from adult gloves

Youth boxing gloves are not just smaller versions of adult gloves. They are built with a narrower hand compartment, a shorter cuff, and less overall foam, because a child's punch does not carry the force an adult's does. The ounce number still means the same thing it does for adults (it is mostly the weight of the padding), but the whole glove is scaled down so a small hand and wrist actually fill it out.

This matters because a child's fist needs to sit snugly against the padding to get any real protection. A loose, oversized glove does not just look wrong, it lets the hand shift on impact, which is exactly what padding is supposed to prevent.

Boxing glove sizes for kids by age and weight

Use this as a starting point, then check it against your child's actual weight, since kids the same age can vary a lot in size. The glove weights below are for bag and pad work. Once your child starts light sparring, go up about 2 oz so a partner gets more padding.

Age (rough guide)	Body weight	Glove weight (bag and pads)
4 to 6 years	Under 50 lb	4 to 6 oz (junior, mitts and drills only)
6 to 9 years	50 to 70 lb	6 oz
9 to 11 years	70 to 90 lb	6 to 8 oz
11 to 13 years	90 to 110 lb	8 to 10 oz
13 to 15 years	110 to 130 lb	10 oz for bag work, 12 oz for sparring
Teen, near adult size	130 lb and up	10 to 12 oz, then move to the adult chart

Once a teenager's weight and hand size line up with the lightest adult band (our boxing glove size chart puts that at under 120 lb for 10 to 12 oz), they can transition into adult sizing rather than staying on the youth scale.

Why weight beats age

Age is a rough guide at best. Two nine year olds can differ by 20 or 30 pounds and by a full inch of hand circumference, so leaning on age alone will size one of them wrong. Body weight is the better signal, because it tracks more closely with how much force a punch carries and how much padding a hand actually needs.

Hand size matters too, mostly for fit rather than protection. A child with a smaller hand for their weight may need to size down slightly so the glove does not sit loose, even if the weight chart points to a bigger number. Our guide on how to measure hands for gloves works for kids the same way it does for adults, just expect a smaller number.

Brands also vary in fit, exactly like they do for adults (see our glove weight breakdown for how ounce and feel relate), so treat any chart, including this one, as a starting point rather than a rule.

When to size up

Size up when any of these show up:

• Your child's fingers reach the top of the glove with little to no gap.
• The cuff no longer closes snugly around the wrist.
• Your child has grown noticeably since the gloves were bought (kids grow fast, so check every few months).
• Your child is moving from bag and pad work into light sparring, which calls for more padding.

If you are ever between two sizes, size up rather than down. A slightly heavier glove is safer than one that is too small to protect the hand properly.

Bag work vs sparring for kids

Most young kids only need gloves for the heavy bag, mitts, and pad drills, and 6 to 8 oz covers that well. Light sparring is a different situation and calls for more padding, both to protect your child's hands and to protect their partner, which is why the 8 to 10 oz range is the general move once sparring starts. Many gyms hold off on any sparring until a coach has judged that a child has the control and discipline to do it safely, and always with close supervision.

Never treat bag gloves as sparring gloves for kids. The padding in a lighter bag glove flattens with use and will not protect a sparring partner the way a properly sized sparring glove does.

Fitting and safety

A few basics that matter more for kids than adults:

• Always have a trained adult or coach supervise fitting and early training sessions.
• Buy gloves that close snugly at the wrist. A loose cuff means the glove can twist on impact.
• Recheck sizing every few months. Kids outgrow gloves faster than most parents expect.
• Gloves protect the hand, but they are not a substitute for proper technique and supervision, especially once contact drills or sparring start.

When in doubt, go with the lighter end of a size range for a beginner and size up once your child is training regularly and comfortably.

Getting the ounce number right is the easy part once you have your child's weight and hand size in hand. Run both through our free glove size calculator for a quick recommendation, browse our other free tools for training help, and join the Jabster waitlist to hear when we launch.