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?

Have you never heard of the saying
couldn't give a rats arse @EspressoDoubleShot"?

It's similar to;
Couldn't care less
Couldn't give a shit

I didn't realise we HAD to use clear/plain language on MN

The only thing I buy with any sort of regularity is socks and water bottles because god knows what they do with them but they either get damaged or vanish. This year I bought dd2 a new polo and cardi as all the rest she's inheriting off her sister are about 3 years old so at least she looks shiny and new on her first day 😆. Dd1 has needed all new as she is off to high school but that stuff will last til she grows out of it then go to dd2 presuming high school indigotin does not change. They always need new shoes because we've never had a pair that didn't last a full year size wise, so are always trashed. They go in the bin as not good enough to donate. I learned very quickly not to buy character bags although these still managed to be handed down to dd2. I pick up lunch boxes sometimes in the sale after schools have been returned a few weeks and keep them in the cupboard til they are needed.

@EspressoDoubleShot

They’re kids,yes the lunch bag is dragged,hoiked,dropped and thrown. That’s what kids do,they are exuberant and lively. They don’t need to curtail their spontaneity & energy to look after a cheap supermarket lunch bag.

Bloody hell. I have children who wouldn’t dream of dragging, hoiking or throwing their belongings. The only one I’ll concede to is that sometimes things get accidentally dropped. You need to teach your children to have some respect for their belongings, and basic good behaviour to be honest.

But the kids don’t need to be dragging them about. And if they are opening and closing the zip in a normal fashion it shouldn’t destroy the item. My kids carry their school bag on their back, put it under their table or on their peg, then carry it home. They don’t tie it to the back of the car and drag it along the road behind us.

Of course their things don’t look as brand new as when they were new, but they’re still clean and serviceable, and absolutely not tatty, scruffy and destroyed.

No! We are just replacing what’s needed.

I have only ever replaced if they are worn out/broken. The fabric type/cool bag lunch boxes come up perfectly well in the washing machine. I think it's a waste of resources and money to do otherwise

I see a lot of different attitudes on here and I may be rightly so regarded as selfish and frivolous but what about the kids?Cannot we just spoil them?Why can;t they have what they want?Who says you have a bag you must respect that bag or die trying?You must value said bag or you are a horrible child...its bull. Kids change their minds, they like and want new things all the time I see no problem with this if parents can afford to do so.

I don’t think it makes the child horrible but I wouldn’t slow my child to disrespect and trash their possessions. I don’t think it’s a good attitude to have, I think children need to learn that their parents work hard to give them their things and it isn’t right to break those things through carelessness.

I guess maybe if you have a lot of money you can indulge your kids and ‘spoil’ them, but I try to explain to my kids how money can only be spent once. So you can spend £15 on a new bag when you already have a £60 bag at home, or it could be spent on a Mac Donald’s and cinema ticket. You have to be aware of the value of money when you don’t have much of it.

I buy bags and lunchboxes when they are broken and need replacing

@lazylump72, because we are in a situation in which our endless consumption of new things is a big contributor to climate change, and our children and their children will suffer more than we will. Many of them will ask us why we didn’t do more to stop the destruction of our planet. If you feel you can answer that question with a clear conscience, then good for you, I guess.

I tend to assume that everyone else wakes up in the night in a cold sweat about the state of the planet, as I do; then I read threads like this and remember that it has completely passed some people by.

Me too Waterlego

@Mummyratbag 💐 Awful, isn’t it?

I get that some people don’t realise the seriousness of the situation. But some do and just don’t seem to care. I can’t wrap my head around that.

@Kanaloa

I don’t think it makes the child horrible but I wouldn’t slow my child to disrespect and trash their possessions. I don’t think it’s a good attitude to have, I think children need to learn that their parents work hard to give them their things and it isn’t right to break those things through carelessness.

I guess maybe if you have a lot of money you can indulge your kids and ‘spoil’ them, but I try to explain to my kids how money can only be spent once. So you can spend £15 on a new bag when you already have a £60 bag at home, or it could be spent on a Mac Donald’s and cinema ticket. You have to be aware of the value of money when you don’t have much of it.

It's not just that , but often the creativity and enthusiasm transfers to the classroom too. Which means resources /displays broken, thrown about, snapped, discarded, trampled on, chewed , ruined just for fun etc. All admonishments are met with a shrug and "miss will give us another one". Just teach your kids to respect and look after kids, it's not curbing anything or ruining their life.

Given the kids have hardly been in school for the last two years how are they wearing things out ?

@waterlego Me neither. I would rather my children had a planet to grow old on than the latest bag. I envy their ability to switch off. Yes one new bag isn't going to end us, but 8.9 million every year isn't going to help the problem. I admit my efforts are far from perfect, but I'm really trying to make a difference.

@Pastrydame

How many handbags do we all have? I am certainly guilty of having bought a new bag when the last one is still standing

Zero

I always buy a new school bag/ lunch bag/ pe bag/ pencil case and stationary every year. Me and DC spend the day together going out getting all the uniform and shoes in and they get to pick new things for the school year. Tbf I think most people do

@lazylump72

I see a lot of different attitudes on here and I may be rightly so regarded as selfish and frivolous but what about the kids?Cannot we just spoil them?Why can;t they have what they want?Who says you have a bag you must respect that bag or die trying?You must value said bag or you are a horrible child...its bull. Kids change their minds, they like and want new things all the time I see no problem with this if parents can afford to do so.

Why does ‘spoiling’ them involve letting them treat their belongings badly and buying them new stuff all the time? I try and ‘spoil’ my kids with my time and attention and taking them out, not constantly buying them shit.

Reading this thread, I find myself wondering whether there's a link between people who can't spell "stationery" and those compelled to buy completely unnecessary new stuff every year...

Seriously I am shaking my head in disbelief at the stupidity on display here. Eighteen pages in and people are still saying "well, I buy new every year because...well...doesn't everyone?" 🤦‍♀️

My daughter has school lunches so I don't bother with a lunchbox or bag as she only takes a Drinks bottle and her snacks but after a year her school bag has definately seen better days so She had a new one of those without a doubt x

@EspressoDoubleShot

Handbag? I have 40+. And if I fancy anew bag, I’ll buy it I keep them in dust cover, annual handbag clinic refurb and clean

A girl after my own heart! I love handbags, have no idea how many I own.

We buy another every sept, but doesn't have to be new- can be used but good condition. My daughter likes a different bag each year. We also sell the one she has and use that money towards the new one.

And I think an adult having different handbags/bags for different occasions is a bit different to buying a new school bag each year and discarding the previous year’s one.

@Neverrains

I didn’t realise you could only do one or the other.

I am also shaking my head in disbelief that people are getting so worked up over what people spend their own money on. Does it effect you or your day to day life? If not then just carry on doing what you do and let others do the same. People have their own reasons for doing things so I always try to not judge, something which many people on this thread seem to really struggle with.

By buying my kids new bags doesn’t mean I don’t do things with them…what a ridiculous comment to make!

I’m not worked up as such about the bag buying, it’s the justifying it by saying ‘oh they absolutely need one, after a school year their bag and lunchbox is totally destroyed and trashed, broken and ripped.’

I’d not find it as annoying if people just said ‘I buy new because I want them to have new ones’ than pretending a year old bag is suddenly trashed just in time for the new term.