Secondary school bag help!!

[Suzi19]

Hi all,

My daughter starts secondary school in September, she’s our eldest so first time going through transition. I want to get her a “cool” bag (she isn’t aware really of things like this as she is autistic - I have asked what bag she wants and she just says what all the other kids have so I fit in!) unfortunately at 39 I have no clue what is cool and what’s not!!! Can anyone enlighten me as to what might be some good options?

Any advice on anything else I should be getting would also be very much appreciated ☺️

Thank you from one very anxious mummy!! Xx

You can change straps to thicker ones and she’s wears her rucksack on one shoulder anyway.

Also in year 9 they all have Chromebooks and mostly use those so I’m hoping the weight will come down

I'd look in Urban Outfitters to see what's fashionable. If it's sold there it's acceptable.

I've got two teenager daughters and neither they or any of their female friends have Nike or adidas bag, although boys do. I think it very much varies school to school.

This is so interesting!

My school is full of girls who reject the handbag (they're the domain of a select group who have their make up on hand) and it's much more unisex.

I haven't seen anyone with a fjallraven, but that might be because of the price...which makes me wince 😂

Vans are popular for girls at the school
I work at

Adidas and vans are popular with the boys

The older girls have corduroy tote bags from Amazon

If possible check with a kid already at the school because it does vary

You and me both on the price of the fjallraven!
seem to be plenty of them.

I find it fascinating.
Fjallraven has been and gone here although loads were fake from those apps. You can tell who forked out for the real thing by seeing which parents are now using the Kanken 😆
Loads of River Island tote bags here for the girls and black Nike for the boys.

In Y10 DD's bag was the heaviest thanks to all the GCSE mandatory books we had to get for her.
As they were constantly required at home as well, there was no point in keeping anything in a locker anymore.

These totes are a disaster for a teen with a still developing spine.

Dd is starting secondary and fussy. She said she wants just a black rucksack, no logos or anything on it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm surprised that there students with so many books these days. I think the only actual books DD (just finished Year 13) had for GCSE was her English Lit set texts, and even then they were optional as you could use copies in school. All textbooks etc were online and accessed through the school online learning portal.

My dd wasn't carrying books or a Chromebook either.

Herschel is popular but a lot of the girls have tote bags, my DD has her under armour one from her primary school still, noticed quite a few have under armour too. But the coolest would deffo be a tote. Just a lot of heavy books to carry round in a tote!

It’s surprising how many of you grown women fall for this “gotta keep up with the cool kids” crap.

Get a life !

OP Im autistic and I think you are doing your daughter a massive disservice by encouraging her to want to be one of the crowd. Encourage her to choose a bag that SHE likes.

When mine were at secondary school it seemed to swap between Adidas and Nike. One year Nike would be the in bag, the next year it would be Adidas. I'm not sure what's in at the moment though.

It's more that we realise that secondary school children are not adults, and that some of them will target people who don't fit in. OP's DC is autistic, which comes with its own challenges. Why add more unnecessarily? I'm sure there are plenty of bags that DD will like that also don't make her stand out as, say, a unicorn Smiggle bag will.

I was bullied at school for not having things like the "right" pencil case. Am I being a better parent if I help my child negotiate the first few days and weeks of secondary school by recognising the challenges they might make, or by insisting that it's more important to not follow the crowd? (Which they can decide to do, or not to do, at a later point)

Get a life !

She's eleven! What life do you want her to have?

It’s the same for DD’s 6th form now, all books are in physical form.
they can be borrowed from the school but then you can’t make notes in them or mark them.

They only use online tools for extra revision and tests.

Surely you can remember what first day nerves are like, especially secondary. it’s fish out of water for the best of us.
I’m sure she will feel comfortable, in time.
It’s more about easing the stress of that first day and feeling awkward enough without adding that you feel like you’ve got the wrong bag or shoes etc.

It’s the same for DD’s 6th form now, all books are in physical form.
they can be borrowed from the school but then you can’t make notes in them or mark them.

Yes, ours is like this for sixth form when they can ask you to buy books. But for the prior five years they aren't carrying books back and forth.

My daughter is 14 and going into S3 (Scotland). She has used tote bags since starting high school (I've suggested backpacks and it's a firm NO! 😂).

I've bought her this one (her choice). Really good sale on - lots of decent leather bags.

www.paulcostelloebags.com/product/alora-2/

I think Kankens are still cool and also a bie edgy. Pricey but they will last forever.

Whatever you get , she will quickly want to move onto a large tote bag, slung over one shoulder while you fret about spinal twisting and other damage done by carrying heavy silly bags all day.

I've bought DD a pale blue north face Backpack I saw in the sales a while back. Most of the girls have a light coloured backpack and nearly all the boys seem to have a black or grey one.
Half the children from our village go by bus, the others by bike so they need to be practical. I don't know what the children who live closer to school use. We're a 30 minute walk away.

I think what is deemed cool is different at each school. You'd be best off asking this question in your local FB group for parents of kids that go to the school your daughter will.

Almost everybody had Fjällräven Kånken
at our school.

My DD had this one and loved it. It’s not as huge as it looks on the model, it’s a regular size.

Minimalist Large Capacity Backpack

My dd left secondary last year but she had a tote style hand bag, those from new look or river island were popular.
My ds had a Nike backpack for year 7&8, I’ve just purchased an under armour for the year 9.