To be amazed that people still haven't bought their school uniform?

Because it isn't late. It's on time. It's just shops putting it all out early (same as they do with Christmas and Summer and every other season/festival) to make you think you have to do everything super early.

I refuse to buy in to it. If more people refused to buy into that shit then shops would have to adjust and start actually stocking stuff at appropriate times.

In my situation - after asking my H to help more - he said 'I will do the uniform' and i have resisted temptation to check/chase him. and now we have about 2 items. and i'm trying to sort out in time.

I'm beginning to think I've reared three growth-stunted adults (they're not!) but I never had the challenges with uniform size that people are referencing! My daughters had one blazer each that lasted 7 years and my son had two blazers in his 7 years!

I agree with @llamajohn. Extenuating circumstances aside, and I am the world's least organised person, why put yourself under pressure at the last minute? If something doesn't fit, then it can normally be exchanged!

Waiting to see how much weight their kids have gained & buy the right size.

Best hope your child hasn't grown out of it then.

DD did when I bought all her (appropriately sized) uniform for reception. I had to return it all.

I do it early. Loads of my friends do it really late. I don't know why. Always seems silly unorganised and unnecessarily stressful to me.

Absolutely this.

I don' understand why people don't use brioche for their sarnies when they don't have bread?(c)

Im so sorry to hear this. I hope the school are/have been supportive

Household runs on JIT inventory controls.

We got DD's new stuff yesterday. There was loads left in Sainsbury’s. It wasn't an issue.

Why wouldn't you?!

But personally I always wished I could just be allowed to enjoy the holidays without constant reminders in shops and newspaper adverts and everywhere else of the looming imminent return to school

I refuse to think about, dc & myself don’t want too.

Yep I was at school in the 80s and felt the same.
I dont have kids so no skin in the game but our parents used to take us school uniform shopping on the last Saturday in August because of growth spurts and DB got through shoes at a rate of knots

We worked all summer except one week. Tonsillitis happened. Now shopping on the inset days and hoping there’s something left in the shops

Why would you leave it to the last moment?

Because we have busy lives & don’t feel the need to do everything months in advance.
I bought some 2nd hand jumpers at the Summer fair. Got some shirts at the supermarket & tie from the uniform shop yesterday. Anything else I will get over the next week or so.

Is this why there is Halloween stuff in the shops now, people decorate for Autumn in the Summer & why some take their tree down on the 26th?

Month ago I checked ds school shoes which we only bought in April, still fit. We came back from holiday yesterday and this morning I got them out to check against length of school trousers which I ordered 26th july with blazers and only got
Delivered to local school supplier while we were away, sister picked it up for me on Thursday. I waited that long so no time to get tailored and have to do it myself today kind of. So he puts them on with his school shoes only to find out school shoes absolutely do not fit anymore.

So off we go to the shoe shop and a sport shop to buy school shoes and PE trainers and every day trainers etc like last-minute numpties. I couldn't foretell he would grow two shoe sizes over the summer!

I was glad Payday was only on Friday, I wonder how many people were actually waiting for that to get last bits of uniform or like me, we are panic buying stuff that they had bought elsewhere and was not getting delivered in time- school uniform shop wouldn't let me order in June but then July was too bloody late!

I tried and they said a straight no as it was over 4 weeks. Might just be the Teesside Park store as they were the same with my mother. I was a day late in returning something for her because she’d been in intensive care - she was still in hospital- and they wouldn’t even give a credit note

The summer holidays??

Which is fine for items like the book bag or PE bag, but less fine if you spend money on clothing or shoes, and the child has a growth spurt over the summer, and doesn’t fit into them when school starts, @llamajohn.

Not all of them. You'll always have some just outside the cut off

Some people will have appealed their place.
Some people will have been saving up and only be able to afford the last bits this pay day.

Nothing to do with finances I wanted to add

We're going tomorrow for school start on Tuesday. DD going in to year 1 so we have a branded cardigan and the rest is generic I'll get from Sainsbury's or m&s tomorrow (or next, Tesco, Asda etc, I'm not worried). We've had a busy summer and been on holiday for the last week. I've left shoe buying until the last minute as I don't trust DDs feet to not grow overnight

Vulnerable families get financial support with uniform costs surely?