is this bag childish for year 7

This is highly unlikely.

There are (homeschooling) websites and groups absolutely full of people removing their children because EHCPs are not being stuck to or there’s ’no funding’ .The stories I read about are London, Bristol, Kent, Manchester, it’s not localised!!

One family recently were told that their children schools could only offer him Lego in the corridor instead of give any learning activities. This was an apparently decent school! The mum removed all 4 of her children to homeschool them.
The system is a mess. Children aren’t catered for. Near us, the autistic school has 60 applicants for each space. It’s definitely not as simple as ‘push for an EHCP’!!!!

Never heard of a secondary school that does this!! This is only done in infant school where we are (Also London!)

Jansport do some lovely backpacks and have a sale at the moment.

Just got one for my eldest. I still have mine going strong and I have had it since before I started my GCSE’s…..I was 40 this year!😂

The zips and material are honestly still perfect after 25 years, he just didn’t want to use a pale pink bag, or he could have had it!

(op, my son is also autistic and like what he likes…..I try and direct him a bit because his choices can be a bit young, but he absolutely won’t have it most of the time! Good luck……I hope your boy is more guided by you than mine is!!)

🌻🌸🌼

He isn't an adult. He is an 11 year old boy in a secondary school environment and at risk of being bullied.

Let him have the bag when out with the family but a plain black or branded bag in school.

Yes it is. If he is already at risk of potential bullying, don't make him an easy target like that. Make he blend in more by having a Nike bag or whatever the kids have these days. Reduce the risk.

I think its really sad to teach a kid that hiding what they love is important to fit in, and i think helps it be OK for the kinda bullying you describe to happen.

parents says youre 11, you love sonic but really you need a Nike black bag to fit in. Then almost everyone has a Nike black bag, and anyone who doesnt is fair game.

Sorry OP he’s going to be a sittimg duck with those choices. I’ve one just finished year7 and it’s black Nike that’s most common. Your obviously doesn’t care about brands but defo steer clear of anything character. It would take a very confident person to be able to carry off a character bag for secondary school.

Adults, who are socially confident and established in their tastes and can hold their own in the face of snarky comments. I say this as owner of retro 1980s t-shirts which I've been known to wear on non-uniform days. I don't need validation from teenagers.

That's very different to an 11 year old with social difficulties going off into the unknown of secondary school, where it's more than likely to get negative attention from some gobshite who likes a cheap power trip, and depressingly it's more than likely to be a fellow 11 year old keen to prove that they're grown-up with a complete disdain for anything and anyone "childish"

Even older ND pupils having individual quirky/ character bags is different once they've got an established social position in school and have got to an age where things are "cult" or "ironic" rather than "babyish"

Black Nike adidas or north face

Our secondary school specifies a plain backpack in a dark colour as part of the uniform list. Does the school specify in your case? You could ‘blame it on the school’ anyway if your son is leaning towards a more ‘childish’ bag?

Wow, is your secondary school allows any kind of backpack? We are only allowed school uniform one (East London)

DO NOT send him into yr7 with that bag, please just buy a plain black nike bag else he will be a walking target! For laces you can get elasticated black ones on amazon for like 3pounds!

Adults wear disney MLP sonic Tolkien etc loungefly. I dont see the issue

@dinosaursroars

OP, have you requested an EHC Assessment for him?

www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/extra-SEN-help

I cannot agree with this more. My DH with auAdhD was bullied at school but could not give less of a fuck about any of what is trendy and would never judge others. Up the difference!

Ah, what was known back in the day as ‘the dreaded lurgy’. One kid was deemed to have it and everything they touched would be ‘contaminated’.

People can preach kindness and inclusivity as much as they want but sadly human nature (particularly immature human nature) means that it’s often only on the surface.

This thread is very interesting to me. When I was at school my parents would just come home one day with things like school bags.

Those bags do look very babyish and I definitely wouldn't do anything complicated with multiple different bags for lunch and books etc. Lunch bag should fit in the big bag

This isn’t even about bullying because he wants a bag that is a bit childish

It’s because the bag is too small for purpose.

I'd go plain Nike. In theory your eldest is right but I think sonic is definitely a target and you don't want to set him up for failure. Ideally just go really simple and a brand name so nobody can really pick holes.

My son was in the equivalent year last year in Scotland. All the boys had sports brand backpacks (nike, adidas etc), 95% of which were black. I'd suggest getting one of those for the reasons you're worried. The bags you've shared are a bit too 'primary school' unfortunately.

It is sad, but it’s the reality of the situation and that won’t change by September

What a sad thread 😔 more needs to be done about kids picking on others. It's a bag ffs!

Having worked with SEN children in senior school I can tell you that both of those backpacks will cause endless bullying. Could you tell him the school says it has to be a black backpack?

I know it will be difficult to get him to change his mind but it is definitely the right thing to do.

It’s def changed in the last 8 years or so then as Hype was v popular at DCs’ school then!

I'd get a plain bag, but in an unremarkable, non-black colour. School bags often end up in a pile and it's easier to find one that isn't black.