To sodding hate book bags

[Gileswithachainsaw]

They never last dd2s is getting a hole in the corners on top of the Velcro starting to fail meaning as soon as you put the water bottle in the flap just comes open when you carry it.

She's going to need a new one for September on top of the new uniform and shoes and they can't have a bag til juniors. For an extra few quid I could by a decent quality back pack and get a couple of years or more out of it. All dd1s back packs have lasted well. Instead I'm replacing the book bags with another book bag that won't last...

They are such a sodding waste of money... Grrrr

[Quietlygoingmad67]

Return it?

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Ooh a free one very yr. like that idea

[BluePitchFork]

we have backpacks.
much better for the posture anyway and much more sturdy.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

I much prefer them but they are stuck with book bags til juniors

[OutDamnedWind]

Seems daft if they're expected to take things like water bottles in, but aren't allowed to take a bag. They're only designed for books, after all!

Would the bottle fit in a lunch bag or be carried separately? Or in a bottle carrier?

[RiverTam]

I think they have book bags at DD's school until KS2. They're a bit hopeless, perfectly durable but the shape doesn't work when you've got a water bottle in there, let alone a coat or other clothing. And I always have to carry it as it doesn't work dangling off DD's bike handles.

I might ask if we can get a backpack for year 2.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Won't fit in the lunch box and seems kinda daft to have a bag and still have to carry stuff separately... Already has lunch bag and book bag to carry

[Emily7708]

We just use the book bag for books only and a back pack for all the other stuff.

[OutDamnedWind]

It does, but the book bag will just break with the water bottle, given that they're not designed to carry stuff like that. If only the school could think of some way that all these things could be carried in one, possibly even on your back

Bigger lunch bag? Might get more use out of that than another book bag.

Could try adding extra velcro.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

So the solution is to buy multiple bags to divide everything into just to enable usage of the book bag schools insist on

[BluePitchFork]

tbb I would (and have!) break school policy and get a small backpack. for books and wirksheets we use a plastic binder so they don't get squashed or wet/dirty.

[OutDamnedWind]

Absolutely, Giles. Perfectly logical, no idea what you're grinning about.

Cut the book bag in half, and sew the front to the front of a back pack, and the back to the back. They'd never notice

[BathshebaDarkstone]

My DC's school doesn't allow backpacks until yr1. This is because nursery and reception are now in one classroom, leaving the huge ex-reception classroom empty. This means that they have no space to hang bags in the cloakroom and have to take book bags and carrier bags that they can put in their trays.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Someone pass me the scissors..

I suck at sewing

[doraexploradora]

same problem here. book bag was useless after Easter y2 even without water bottles.

have cheated and bought the backpack already. No one has commented as of yet. Backpack now also holds PE bag, club snack and coat. Win win win

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Think I'm going to have to. Not forking out for replacements all the time. Waste of time and money

[InternationalHouseofToast]

Yes, DS' book bags only ever last a year. Either he scrapes them along the ground so the corners go, or the lining starting to flake away, leaving black bit on his books and meaning it's no longer waterproof.

I wish they were more robust. His PE bag went to nursery with him at 9 months old and is still in perfect condition, with his name on the outside perfectly visible. We're throwing away our 3rd book bag in mid-July.

[TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams]

I fecking hate the book bags. They are totally, fecking useless pieces of crap designed to advertise the sodding school and enable small children to lose every small thing.

I hear your pain.

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Oh the pe bags suck too. Again a little back pack would be better. Instead the pe bags just rip where the drawstring comes out and the knots pull through the hole meaning it tangles and drags along the floor as its too long...

[Gileswithachainsaw]

Exactly it tread

[vladthedisorganised]

I hate them too, OP. We also have a book bag; backpacks aren't allowed until the juniors.

They're fine if you're only carrying a single book and walking 100 metres or so from the car to the school gate, less practical if you're going any further than that or carrying anything else. Not so great for 'Walk To School Week' then.

[isittheholidaysyet]

Hate them hate them hate them. School recently introduced them for reception despite me pointing out how bad they were.

So now my child leaves school with small reading book in back. Then in my her hands: water bottle, sunhat, toy or 6, cardigan, coat, latest piece of work/junk model and letters which they hand out as kids leave the classroom.

Why does anyone think bookbags are a good idea?

[Hockeydude]

Yep, complete crappy bags unless you are in reception and just need to carry a couple of really thin books and nothing else. My dc bag is permanently popping open. Glad this is her last term with book bags!

[PerspicaciaTick]

DS's school book bags are from Tesco, who add the school logo. They are more robust than the ones we used to use, and the shoulder strap means that the weight of the water bottle is pulling the velcro apart all the time.

[GrumpyMcGrumpFace]

I so agree! To add insult to injury, we came to the UK last year and DD2 already had a school bag - a proper school backpack (you know the German type - that are all ergonomically designed and will be the only things left on the planet after a nuclear bomb goes off?... One of those).

The teacher came out to me the first day and said that this was not going to be suitable - too big. DD2 needs a book bag... Tho we did actually compromise on a messenger bag (I had one sculling around at home anyway) which does the job and is a bit better for carrying, and doesn't fall apart the way the school branded bags do... and has a place to put a water bottle etc.

They do seem to go out of their way to produce school kit that's totally unsuitable. Don't even get me started on blazers... (uncomfortable plastic coats that cost the earth for some unknown reason).