Glove facts for kids

A glove is a type of clothing that covers your hand. Gloves come in many different styles and are made from various materials. People use gloves for many reasons, like staying warm, keeping clean, or playing sports.

Gloves for Protection

Many gloves are worn to protect your hands. For example, thick gloves made of wool or other fabrics help keep your hands warm in cold weather.

Thin gloves, often made of rubber or plastic, are used to keep hands clean. They also stop germs or dirt from spreading to things you touch. Workers might wear strong rubber gloves to protect their hands from harmful chemicals.

A mitten is a type of glove that has a separate spot for your thumb. Your other four fingers stay together in one section. Mittens are great for keeping hands warm because your fingers share warmth. Some mittens even have open fingertips so you can use your fingers for tricky tasks while keeping your hands mostly warm.

Gloves for Fashion

Some gloves are worn simply because they look good. These fashion gloves are often made from fancy materials like leather, fur, or special fabrics. They can add a stylish touch to an outfit.

• 

  Leather work gloves.

• 

  A construction worker's glove.

• 

  Fine gloves worn for fashion.

• 

  Thin gloves used in medicine.

Gloves in Sports

Gloves are very important in many sports. Often, they help athletes get a better grip on equipment or protect their hands.

• In golf, players wear a glove on one hand to hold the club more firmly.
• Baseball players use large gloves to catch the ball safely.
• Goalkeepers in soccer wear special padded gloves to protect their hands and help them catch the ball.

Different Types of Mittens

Mittens are a cozy type of hand covering. They are often knitted and are very popular for children. Some mittens do not have separate finger parts at all. Other designs have open fingertips, allowing the wearer to use their fingers for detailed work while keeping most of their hand warm.

• 

  Memorial mittens.

• 

  An oven mitten protects hands from heat.

• 

  A mitten with a fold-back top for delicate work.

Images for kids

• 

  Assorted gloves (a museum collection).

• 

  Minoan youths boxing. This is one of the earliest known uses of gloves.

• 

  Portrait of Mme. Paulin wearing gloves, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

• 

  A glove made to remember the visit of General Lafayette to the United States in 1824.

• 

  A disposable nitrile rubber glove.

• 

  Dry scuba gloves.

• 

  Racing drivers' gloves.

• 

  Three-finger army shooting gloves.

• 

  Touchscreen gloves, designed for using touch devices.

• 

  Leather fingerless gloves.

• 

  Motorcycle riding gloves, made of gray deerskin with reinforced parts.

• 

  Lined black leather gloves with red leather fourchettes (finger sides).

• 

  Rick Mastracchio's damaged glove during STS-118 space mission.

• 

  Saami mittens from Norway.

• 

  Gloves designed to protect against vibrations.

• 

  Michael Jackson's famous glove.

See also

In Spanish: Guante para niños