New school bag and lunchbox every September?

[AvocadoHo]

Light hearted debate with OH.

Making a list of school uniform needed for daughter (8) going back to school.

He rolled his eyes snd asked "why does she need a new bag? What's wrong with the one she has?"

Nothing is wrong with it, it's just a bit grubby and battered. But when I was growing up we had a new bag and lunch box every year. He feels this is excessive.

Is it really that uncommon?

My dd has 2 for September 🙄 ooops. He has tons of bags. She's obsessed lately ! Did used to be coats an that's worn off....

I also think it’s important to teach kids to look after their possessions. I wouldn’t be happy if school bags and pencil cases were routinely trashed and broken. By age 6/7 I’d say most kids should know how to carefully unzip their pencil case, remove what they need and zip it back up.

Depends on quality of things really. I still use some stationery from my own school/university days - i have really cool pencil cases which now are vintage :D
But for my own kids - some stuff is pretty short-lived, and they don't deliberately trash things.

I dont buy new stuff for the sake of it, I think it's teaching kids that these items are disposable and I don't want them to learn these values. My daughter used her school bag (superdry) for 3 years until it broke. We got the zip repaired and now she uses it as a gym bag. Then I let her have an expensive Kanken for school - I said this was because we had saved money on an annual new bag so we could splash out on something of better quality that would last longer. She is now proud of making things last. As for lunchboxes my son seems to use his as a football, they cracked and broke so often, getting through a whole year would be an achievement. - he now uses empty ice cream containers which bothers him not one jot.

My son has had the same book bag for 3 years! Just replace when needed.

We get new every year. The old things are kept and used for outside school for a year. They usually get battered to pieces outside of school so that's why we replace.

Dc8 has had the same lunch box and book bag since reception. Granted she has school dinners more often than not and the book bag is supplied through school and the lunch box is a nice pattern rather than a theme she’s grown out of.

It’s a waste and unnecessary though. If you do replace them at least send the old ones to a charity shop.

Children are all being taught at school about how they can take steps to reduce pollution and environmental damage. Being the parent who insists on brand new items each school year (if existing bag/lunchbox are still in fine condition) and contributing the 'old' items to landfill is setting an awful example. How can you not see that?

We have a kanken too here for secondary going strong.

Smiggle seems to last more than a year here, as have hype backpacks.

PPs who wash lunchboxes...do you put them in the washing machine or dishwasher.

DS1 has an insulated one I usually wipe clean/hand wash. Do we think it'd be ok being put on a cold spin in the washing machine?

@Camomila yes the zip up insulated ones come out great after a 30/40 wash!!

@L1ttleSeahorse

We have a kanken too here for secondary going strong.

Smiggle seems to last more than a year here, as have hype backpacks.

DD’s smiggle bag is still fine 3 years in.

Perfect, thanks @qualitygirl I will try that today.

Yes I have thrown DS bag and lunch bag both through the wash and they have been fine.

Ds has to have a school branded bag (actually 3, a general one, a swimming bag and a pe bag) which means I can get away with him using them pretty much until they break and he doesn’t moan about them not being fashionable or whatever.

@Sirzy

If a child’s happiness is so dependent on the Material things they need a new school bag every year I wokld suggest that is a very good reason to start making changes anyway to move away from such a materialistic view

Yes THIS ^^^%

And if you want to make them last then do make sure the bags are emptied of stuff especially food regularly and stuck through a wash every now and again.

I bought my son new ruc sack this week. He had his last 2 years. I plan for this one to go through year 11.

Guilty! New everything here every September and obviously top ups and changes if things look a bit shabby at the end of terms. I like my dd 9 to look well turned out.She doesnt come home that way at the end of the day but she looks immaculate first thing!! Things are so cheap now a days it doesnt cost much to replace anything thats worn. I wash and press all her used stuff and send it to the uniform swap shop.

@lazylump72

Guilty! New everything here every September and obviously top ups and changes if things look a bit shabby at the end of terms. I like my dd 9 to look well turned out.She doesnt come home that way at the end of the day but she looks immaculate first thing!! Things are so cheap now a days it doesnt cost much to replace anything thats worn. I wash and press all her used stuff and send it to the uniform swap shop.

My DS was well turned out thanks. His bag lasted him 7 years. New doesn't mean better than others...

@therarebear

Children are all being taught at school about how they can take steps to reduce pollution and environmental damage. Being the parent who insists on brand new items each school year (if existing bag/lunchbox are still in fine condition) and contributing the 'old' items to landfill is setting an awful example. How can you not see that?

My kids school sends balloons off for various occasions. I doubt they’re spinning hard lines about the environment.

Also never crossed my mind to get new ones at the start of each year.

@lazylump72

Guilty! New everything here every September and obviously top ups and changes if things look a bit shabby at the end of terms. I like my dd 9 to look well turned out.She doesnt come home that way at the end of the day but she looks immaculate first thing!! Things are so cheap now a days it doesnt cost much to replace anything thats worn. I wash and press all her used stuff and send it to the uniform swap shop.

Ds always looks smart when leaving the house. That doesn’t involve buying things just because of the date though!

I replace when broken but with teens they aren't advertising a brand like Disney Princess which they might fall out of love with quickly. Bags last minimum 2-3 years here.

My parents couldnt afford to buy new every year, I remember everyone got a new geometry kit every year - it was a real moment of excitement when I realised you could buy the individual items if you had broken your protractor or lost something from it!

I wouldn't dream of replacing school bags and lunch boxes while they're still perfectly usable.