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?

Teach your children to take care of their things and the planet. When I was growing up my parents couldn't afford a new bag every year, I had 1 bag for the whole of primary school. Even though I could pay for a new bag every year its unbelievably wasteful to buy new just because its September. What do you do with last years bag/lunchbox? Send them to landfill?

High school no as they are plain black so no point updating them unless they break.

Primary school the lunch boxes are always ready for the bin along with their school shoes by the end of term so always replace them. Bags are replaced for primary more often than not depending on the condition of them.

No every September I get new. Not sending my kid off to school being the scruffy one with last years tatty stuff.
They’ll be the best-dressed kids on The Road

Like others I only replace when the old one is unusable (which never nicely happens at the end of the year). The one exception was that I agreed DD could have a new bag for starting secondary school - but she had used her previous bag for 4 years and still uses it out of school.

This last year, they haven't even been in school all the time!
If you're only doing it because that's what happened when you were a child, perhaps you need to think a bit more about your reasons.

@PumpkinPie2016

I wouldn't buy new for the sake of it - it's wasteful and bad for the environment.

I teach in a secondary in an average area and loads of kids reuse their bags/blazers etc.

When I started secondary school, my parents bought me a brand new blazer with some growing room in it. Turns out, I didn't grow much at all and was a careful child, so it lasted until the end of the third year! At which point, it was donated to another child who got a further 18 months wear out of it

My son's primary don't allow backpacks due to lack of space. He is going into Y3 and will be using the same PE bag and book bag that I bought in reception. Both are perfectly fine.

I can beat that on blazers! Mine lasted throughout secondary, including sixth form, as did my skirt, tie, boater, felt hat.. i have a feeling they must have been quite large on little eleven year old me.

@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?

Excessive.

Always new for the new school year. I always charity shop or give away the old ones - it's not like I bin them!
Children enjoy having new things for a new school year. I honestly thought that was the norm.

[quote Kanaloa]@pollylocketpickedapocket

How tatty do school bags get? Are you buying very cheap ones so they fall apart quickly? Or are you not washing them? They shouldn’t look that bad after one school year.[/quote]
I buy the one from the school suppliers, on the uniform list. It’s battered now.
Lunchboxes, I have fabric ones, not used for school tbf, they’ll go to the charity shop when they’re finished with.

@Username916

We have an ongoing saga re school bags in our house. My daughter got a new hype branded one after Easter as it was in the sale and a design she liked. I wasn't planning on buying a new one so soon but she is now telling me she can't go back to school without a new bag after summer! Apparently it is just the done thing that you get a new bag after summer and the fact hers is still almost new is irrelevant.

Wow. She wouldn’t be getting another new one in this house. Only replace when they really need a new one. Which has never been in september. Deliberately got ds a non branded but high quality bag last year. It won’t go out of fashion ! Admittedly is not fashionable either but he doesn’t care

I got a new bag every year when growing up, and that is exactly why my kids only get them when actually needed. Because my bags are probably still sitting in landfills.

We are more environmentally conscious now. There is no need for a new bag unless the zip has burst or it has rips in it or something.

Nope. Same bag and lunchbox.

If it’s scruffy looking around the edges, so what? We’re bringing our kids up to be mindful of their environmental impact.

@hemhem

Teach your children to take care of their things and the planet. When I was growing up my parents couldn't afford a new bag every year, I had 1 bag for the whole of primary school. Even though I could pay for a new bag every year its unbelievably wasteful to buy new just because its September. What do you do with last years bag/lunchbox? Send them to landfill?

Charity shop?

I throw nothing away if it’s usable. Charity shop or give away.

Incredibly wasteful. Ds had 2 lunchboxes from nursery to y6. I only replace things once they're worn out. I probably saved hundreds not buying new uniform/bags/shoes etc. just because it was September. From memory, I only bought polo's and jumpers every 2/3 years. Trousers more regularly. Socks twice over the 7 years.

My children have to have the school bag which isn’t cheap at £50!! Everyone makes sure it lasts from Reception to Year 6 no matter what! By Year 6 they are often hanging by a thread

If it’s still good enough to give to a charity shop why would you not continue to use it?

reception to yr 4 one bag
Yr 5 - 8 second bag destroyed but refused to change till end of the yr as about to move school
Yr9 - new bag not being replaced in a few weeks time

I didn’t have a new one every year growing up. DD has had the same bag for nursery for nearly 3 years but it’s probably less used than a school bag. It feels a bit wasteful to me, can it be washed if it’s grubby?

A spiderman lunchbox in Yr 6 is cruel.

I can beat that on blazers! Mine lasted throughout secondary, including sixth form, as did my skirt, tie, boater, felt hat.. i have a feeling they must have been quite large on little eleven year old me.

DD is about to wear her blazer for the first year. I bought it with growing room but it turned out she'd done all her growing before age 11 so it's stayed big on her. It's now getting very worn out and the lining is ripped so I actually offered to buy her another one (is this the only known instance of a parent telling their child they will buy them smaller school uniform lol) but she insists that it's perfectly serviceable for another year. Sixth form is non uniform so it will go in the bin at the end of June!

it is a nice back to school kind of thing that we are pestered to do.

I throw nothing away if it’s usable. Charity shop or give away.
But if it’s usable why aren’t your kids using it? New stuff has a carbon footprint – the energy and resources to make it, store it, ship it.

DD is about to wear her blazer for the fifth year

This is one of the reasons that school branded school bags/book bags whilst more expensive initially are probably better in the long run, it's not a fashion statement they can't grow out of the character etc

@DingDongThongs

I’m really tight because I wouldn’t allow Spider-Man/high school musical/bing bunny bags or lunchboxes for this reason! They got kanken or sports brand backpacks and plain lunchboxes to make sure they were useable long term.