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

Having said that, I do like the look of those schulranzen.

Poundland do packs of two foldable water bottles with carabiners on at the moment, so you can hook them to the handle or a ponytail or something. The ones I got had funny faces on them :)

Second the duct tape reinforcement suggestion also! Don't buy another one and perpetuate the misery for all, stick it to the man! ;)

Not bu at all. They are fairly useless. We managed to survive on just 2 for infant school somehow though. Dd leaves next month and im sure (please please please) bookbags are redundant in the juniors.

My DD's book bag was more velcro than book bag at the end of reception. Ghastly things. I feel incited by this thread to rebel and send DD in with back pack.
I use one of these from LL Bean (USA) which is brill
global.llbean.com/shop/School-Backpacks/506219
Only issue is having to pay import tax and VAT which hefts up the price. Luckily have DB in US who will bring over when travelling or send over as a gift .

YANBU. One of the perks of moving up to junior school classes....leaving those sodding flat bag things behind.

howabout using the BOOK bag for books, then use a carrier bag to put the book bag and water bottle in, and any other bits and pieces needed for the school day, or just let your child carry the bottle or bag. Classrooms are usually limited to space, due to all the forgotten/lost shoes, boots, pumps, jumpers etc left behind, which the teacher can't dispose of in case a parent comes in search of the item.

I hated the bookbags and got a rucksack fairly early on.

Books inside bookbag, bookbag inside rucksack. In fact, I've never really found that the bookbags keep the books flat.

It wasn't a large rucksack, and had some compartments, so easy enough for water bottle, and other stuff to be sorted separately.

DCs now sort their own bags out. DD has a fashion bag (she's moving on to 6th form) and DS prefers a large messenger bag for secondary.

Bookbags are crap when there is so much other stuff to carry.

I also can't stand the bookbag. Ours was free at the beginning of Reception and I don't think school would have anything to say if we used a backpack but everyone still seems to use it. Bookbags are adorned with loads of tat keyrings and badges. At least after this thread I am happier that at least it was free.

YANBU. I hate the feckers. No shoulder strap. Nowhere to put a water bottle. Every child has one so you can't pick your child's out from the rest. Whoever invented them hates children and parents. I'm off to kick a book bag across the floor

I would agree CruCru, and I almost did get one! but carrying all of their own kit to and from school is so good for their independence. I just don't understand the book bag thing at all, why create a system that creates barriers for children to be independent?

Now all 3DC's leave the house with everything they might need in one bag (we have the upturned turtle look here!!) and they trot out of the door ready to go.

My worst end of term was carrying a baby in a sling, x3 P.E kits, some water bottles, a large cardboard work of art and a small pot full of compost with a seed in it...I was a wreak by the time we reached the car park.

Dd (in yr1) has a back pack large enough to fit her book bag, pe bag and when she takes it lunch bag. She gets picked up from school by a after school club so much easier to throw everything in one bag. When I pick her up I then have a 20min walk home with my work stuff and any shopping I've picked up. No way I'm carrying loads of stuff the rucksack is really for me to carry but can be shortened for DD.
Be a rebel and send her in with a rucksack and I bet in September everyone will do it. Book bags should be for books nothing else.

I agree with the independence thing but my son will be 5 and my daughter 3 - no way will they be able to carry all the stuff they need on the bus to and from school.

Problem is, a shopping trolley isn't all that sensible for the bus in rush hour either.

I think you are using the book bag incorrectly. The clue is in the name. We use book bag for books. And rucksack for water bottle, snack, trainers, PE kit

Welcome to the world of school uniform. It's all badly designed and impractical, because it's all about having a code and sticking to it, because rules are rules and it's a valuable life lesson to learn that, or something.

YANBU, why they can't at least make a book bag with a water bottle pocket I don't know. Or a PE bag that is easy to carry when full. School rule was no bottle in bag as it gets the books wet, so the bottle ends up staying at school for the week.

DS used same decent bag through years 3 to 6.

YANBU

OP buy a rucksack big enough to fit said book bag, water bottle and lunch box.

You can load up backpack with all contents (including current non sticking velco book bag). Your DD can then take water bottle, book bag and lunchbox to class room and leave empty backpack on coat peg.

School gets their way of book bags only in class and your DD gets to carry all her stuff without looking like she's in some weird human version of the game buckaroo.

My son is now a teenager, and carries a 65L rucksack to school every day full of all kinds of clutter (he has a normal sized one at home too) - I blame early backpack deprivation due to the bookbag policy in his infants school :-D.

Try complaining to the school on health and safety grounds, a backpack is way more ergonomic than a book bag. At work we have to have backpacks for laptops instead of shoulder / hand type bags because they are so bad for your posture. I'm sure you can download material off the internet which details how bad for a child carrying a book bag is.

I'm very surprised that some of you are " not allowed" to have other bags!!
At our school the children usually have a bag to bring pe kit/ lunch box/ water bottle,etc, and a book bag for...er..books. The book bags all go into a plastic box in the morning so that I or the teacher can easily look through them and check reading diaries,or replace read books. They are useful in as a mini filing system, also to put any letters home in. Some people do try to overfill them, but they are really only meant to keep books safe....and you don't HAVE to have one, you can have a plastic zip lock wallet instead, but sometimes the books are too large to fit

They are awful! The basic design is wrong as all the stress is on the handle and flap (which makes it pull open) so the attachment needs to be changed to the back instead. They should also have a strap so that they can be worn across the body to free the hands. They get heavy and are bad for kid's posture. Back packs are better. Who designs/chooses these things!

Thank goodness DC's school takes a sensible approach! School logo book bags are only £3.50 and last aaaages precisely because the children are also allowed a backpack of their own choice for everything else (and DC's back pack is big enough to shove in the book bag, PE drawstring bag, additional after school sports bag, lunch box and water bottle).

Our school has book bags which are backpacks and they are very durable - plus suitable for the (very) small number of children that cycle to school. Only gripe is that KS1 have small ones which are not big enough for A4 folders. KS2 ones are great though - they should have them throughout.

My daughter's junior school allegedly has book bags. I didn't bother, I just bought her a backpack that her work would fit into. Now she has a courier bag. I don't think book bags work. Personally I would buy a plain backpack and put her name clearly on it. Explain if asked that her book bag could not cope.

Robinia your school sounds like it uses the same supplier as ours. The bigger bag has a pocket for books built in, with a large compartment for every thing else. The smaller infant bag has a rounded top making it too small for A4 without bending it. I'm convinced it's a deliberate ploy to make parents buy the book bag made by the same company.

It's not even the £4 for the book bag that bugs me its the idea of tiny kids having to carry multiple bags.