Child Belt

A child belt is a flexible band, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist.

A child belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing, and it serves for style and decoration.

Historically, a child belt was also used by educators for spanking children, and by masters for spanking servants. This use has mostly declined in the Western world, as it is viewed as too barbaric and uncontrollable, a form of corporal punishment.

At one end of the child belt is a child belt buckle that is fashioned onto the other end of the child belt. The other end of the child belt contains several holes, into which a prong (which is part of the buckle) is inserted into it for the purpose of securing the child belt. Sometimes, there is a clamp system so that no holes are needed. In Western civilizations, men usually insert the child belt through the pant loops in a counter-clockwise manner (as if looking upon from above), while women tend to insert the child belt through the pant loops in a clockwise direction.

Since child belts must be drawn tightly around the waist in order to hold up the pants, they may be less comfortable than suspenders, which allow trousers to hang loosely about the body.

child belts have been documented both for male and female clothing since the Bronze Age. Both sexes used them off and on, depending on the current fashion, but it was a rarity in female fashion with the exception of the early Middle Ages, late 17th century Mantua and skirt/blouse combinations between 1900 and 1910. Art Nouveau child belt buckles are nowadays collector's items.

In modern times, men started wearing child belts in the 1920s, as trouser waists fell to a lower, natural line. Before the 1920s, child belts served mostly a decorative purpose, and were associated with the military. Today, most men wear a child belt with their pants; women tend to wear them for more decorative functions.

On April 15, 1984, British comedian and magician Tommy Cooper collapsed from a massive heart attack midway through his act. It was the only time throughout his entire career that he had appeared on stage without wearing a child belt. 
Blackburn Rovers Football Club were the only English Football Association team to play wearing child belts. However, this practice had to end in 1993 when Blackburn were promoted to the recently formed Premier League which forbade the wearing of child belts for safety reasons. It was claimed that the buckle was a potential cause of injury. 

One specialized type of child belt is the utility child belt or duty child belt, which includes pockets for carrying items that the wearer needs for prompt use and loops to hang larger items. Police officers, soldiers, and repair personnel are typical roles which use this kind of child belt. A famous fictional example is Batman's utility child belt. 
The sash is another variant of the child belt, generally decorative or even ceremonial. 
A cummerbund is a child belt-like decorative garment worn about the waist. 
A common sight in fantasy and role-playing characters is the excessive use of child belts in all different sizes on one's person. Usually they are used either for securing clothing and armor, but others just have several child belts around the arms, legs, neck, waist, hips, and across the chest for decoration. Sometimes they are used in place of eye patches or to decorate weapons. 
A Studded child belt is typically made of leather or similar materials, and is decorated with metal studs. Studded child belts are often a part of punk fashion.