Heavy Schoolbags. Does anyone use a trolleybag?

[MyBonnyLiesOverTheOcean2020]

Dd is in year 8 and walks to school but her bag is just so heavy. With Covid they are not using their lockers so having to carry this load around all day as well. When I suggested a trolleybag she wrinkled her nose and said that nobody uses one. Does anyone's son or daughter use a trolleybag for school and if so can I ask which one? Thank you.

No. Just no.

The only students I have ever seen with a wheeled bag are those with huge sports bags for cricket/hockey.

I drop my daughters off at secondary at the moment as they're not allowed on the bus (out of catchment kids no longer allowed on this term). I've never seen anyone with a trolley bag but they are also not allowed to use their lockers and I worry about how heavy their bags are. Luckily they aren't walking far to school (just across the school field) from where I drop them but it's still a heavy load to be carting about all day on small frames that are still growing.

Absolutely not 😂

Good grief. That would surely be social suicide?

God no! Please don't do that to her.

Are you trying to make them the laughing stock of the school

Omg please don’t be that parent to have even suggested that - that is so mortifying for a child/teenager!!! Have you really lost touch with being a teenager so much that you can’t see how that would be one of the most embarrassing things they could do.
I know your thinking from the sensible parent aspect of not wanting your child to be in pain lugging around their belongings but....just no!

Surely she just takes the books she needs for that day?

They are quite a thing at the secondary school over the road, just for the girls, so far.

www.amazon.co.uk/Fashion-Suitcase/s?k=Fashion+On+Suitcase&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Does she have cricket gear to transport? I think a designated bag for that would be ok. Or she might set a new trend! I'd go with her thoughts on it all though.

Are you serious? She'd be the laughing stock of the school!

No apart from anything else they are not very practical for lugging up and down the stairs. Unless your DD's school is a very large bungalow its far from practical (never mind all the other comments above!)

I do agree though that they seem to be carrying so much it can't be good for their backs and it does worry me but its just not an argument I'm going to win with a teenager - pick your battles OP. Quite a few of the girls at DD's school put some of the folders into a tote bag so they can distribute the weight a bit. Would that be an option? There are lots of nice tote bags so she'd probably be able to find something she liked

Flip, I can't even get them to wear a school jumper or coat, no chance of a trolley

Get them a good quality back pack which they wear correctly so it's not hanging down their back. I did once read that children shouldn't be carrying more than 10% of their body weight in a backpack.

I saw a little secondary school girl must have been year 7 as tiny with a wheeled trolley bag in one hand and a giant instrument case in the other I thought how clever but I don’t know if her class mates felt the same

zerofuchs DD took just the stuff for today this morning

• 2 lever arch files
• 3 A4 exercise books
• 2 a4 sized text books
• one book for English (hardback)
• pencil case *ipad
• small bag of necessary toiletries

that all adds up to a lot of weight to be carrying about all day.

Please don't do that to her.

@LastGoldenDaysOfSummer

They are quite a thing at the secondary school over the road, just for the girls, so far.

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Suitcases?

One of the sixth form girls at the school I teach in uses one. I'm not aware of any bullying related to it.

@ZeroFuchsGiven

Surely she just takes the books she needs for that day?

But if they have 5 or 6 different subjects that day, that's potentially 5 workbooks, 5 textbooks plus all the other stuff they have (pencil cases, water bottles etc). I can easily imagine how that can add up and would be a lot for a child to lug round all day.

I don't know that I could make her take a trolley case, but how about a good quality hiking backpack that will have been designed to carry heavier weights? Probably not super cool either, but slightly less conspicuous than a trolley bag?!

It's difficult op, I can see how you're worried, but if she's the only one I think she'd get picked on mercilessly.

"One of the sixth form girls at the school I teach in uses one. I'm not aware of any bullying related to it."

You don't get bullied in sixth form for what you would at 12/13.

Always let your teen refuse your suggestion for school equipment and within reason, clothing.

The only student I've ever known to use one has a form of dwarfism and couldn't carry a heavy rucksack.

I understand the concern, my younger secondary child walks 2 miles there and 2 back and today took about 10 text and writing books, French dictionary, plus reading book and planner, stuffed pencilcase, purse and phone, plus outdoor PE kit including trainers, hoodie, leggings and knee length socks, plus water bottle and lunchbox, plus seperate Tupperware with ingredients for vegetable soup. Three bags needed - normal rucksack on back, cross bodied bag for PE kit, carrier bag for food ingredients which was balled up and clutched by hand as carrier bags are not cool. Coat is also being carried for much of the day, school rules say their outdoor coat should be small enough to put in their school bag in between lessons but that doesn’t work at all with the rest of the things they need to carry and it especially doesn’t work when the coat is wet.....

Not sure what the answer is but I know it’s not a trolley.

The Nike Soleday backpacks are good as they are large with padded shoulders. One of my dds has one

Padded straps i mean