To be amazed that people still haven't bought their school uniform?

[llamajohn]

Kids go back on Tuesday. WhatsApp Group is alive with "argh, I can't find X item" or "where can I get the book bag"?

As if it's been a complete surprise that their child is joining reception and the uniform shops and supermarkets have been closed since June...

Why would you leave it to the last moment?

Im normally really organised, but dd has had a growth spurt so I didn't want to buy too early.

Nothing worse than these types of people - buying school uniform in July, Christmas shopping done by September, meticulously planned World Book Day costumes, who absolutely glow when others are a bit stressed or flustered and love to drop a tinkly comment in about ‘that’s why I did mine in X’

DD's feet always grow over the summer so I leave the shoes to the very last minute. They were extra last minute this year because I meant to do them when I got back from a work trip last weekend, but I had a five hour flight delay and got home on Sunday afternoon instead of Sunday morning, so it didn't happen. It seems unimaginative not to realise that other people have different lives.

You can be as amazed and judgmental as you like (if you don’t mind coming across as a bit of an arse) - it doesn’t change the fact that many families have been unable to afford to buy anything until the end of August. Who would have thought that not everyone is like you eh.

Because I get monumentally pissed off about being forced to buy stuff way earlier than I am ready to think about.

Christmas before mid-November can fuck off. Back to school uniform deals the week before they've even broken up can fuck off too.

Same as all the winter coats taking up shop space in August. All the things way ahead of season can all fuck off and we should all stop buying into the panic they try to induce by making us all buy shit so early.

I like to make the holidays last as long as possible so do not like to think about anything school till the last minute. Just arrived back from holiday and am working tomorrow. Luckily my day off is Tuesday so will go through what we have see what fits still and if needed go to supermarket. 2 of mine start back Weds and one Thurs.

My DD relied on next day deliveries. I'm annoyed at her because one of my GC is difficult to size and she's going back with her old backpack. We pick her skirts up on C&C today. Didn't have an issue with the polos/PE kit/Boots. You have 28 days to return items (longer on Asda) so why two sizes wasn't ordered at the start of August I don't know.

But for some people it is the money, because the holidays are expensive.

I do this with shoes but I just size up a couple of sizes with DS’s uniform clothes, and get them in July.

Who cares that she's going back with an old backpack?

If I buy in July it’s often outgrown by September.
The last 2 weeks we’ve been on holiday, so all uniform shopping has been this week.

I work with vulnerable families. They have to wait til the last minute because they have to save every penny for it.

Not everyone is in a position to be organised and have money parked off for it it advance like you.

Many have been struggling to do anything over the summer with their children due to having less money. Every penny counts.

I'd like to know that too. I've never bought a new bag just for the start of the year. They get used till they fall apart, whenever in the year that happens to me

The supermarkets have been closed since June????

I assume your kids are small, I used to buy the next year primary clothes up to a year in advance but still occasionally got caught out with my oldest growing or discovering trousers I'd put away for the youngest has unexpected holes I'd not spotted. Mine are secondary now and I'm just labelling their uniform. School issues uniform at the end of July with swaps mid August so I didn't know until then what I needed. Child went for shoes 3 weeks into the holidays and couldn't find any in a size 5.5 but came home this week and when we went back to the shoe shop he now needed size 7....so pleased we left it late! Luckily money isn't an issue for us but I imagine it is for many. It's also not always clear what is needed. Our secondary didn't tell us anything about stationary or pencil cases until the first day of term in y7 so then it was a mad scramble to find things

We've been away the whole of August, it had to wait until now 🤷‍♀️

I know, I started shopping for DD4 in May 😂I just don't get why you would cause yourself so much stress unnecessarily.

I always left it till the last minute, partly because I’m disorganised and partly because my DCs weren’t considerate enough to stop growing over the summer holidays. DS in particular could easily go up a size in shoes and/or clothes in the space of that 6 weeks.

My buying late didn’t affect anyone else (and also didn’t stress me out or my kids) so I never felt I needed to change that behaviour or justify or defend it to anyone.

I’m all done now with school- 2nd DC just about to go into FE.

Because they can.

It is definitely easier when they are all small and roughly the same size. Age 6-7 was guaranteed to fit DS who is 6 in October. However as a teenager he may take after my lot who never grow above 5ft8 with small feet, or DH's who tend to end up about 5ft11.

I appreciate that some have just been paid but I don't think it's fair to be having a go at staff in Sainsbury's because there are only age 4 and age 10 trousers left when they have been doing 15% off for a week. Witnessed this on Friday.

Same! Why buy a new one if the old one is still fine?

I thought I was all sorted but DD's school shoes - bought after a growth spurt in May half term have disappeared. We've turned the house upside down for them.

New shoes have been bought (in the same size) and I now fully expect the old shoes to turn up on Monday.

Well, my dds were nagged in July and weekly in August, ‘are you sure xyz fits?’ Dd15 declared hat her skirt doesn’t fit and her PE kits is getting small 😏 ffs! The skirt is nearly £40, the uniform sale at school has been and gone and on times when I’m at work.

When my son started reception I bought everything I could in advance only to discover he'd outgrown it by September. Lesson learned that sometimes it just doesn't do to prepare. Then I guess people have probably waited till payday so now trying to do it before kids go back.

Also the school specific stuff (branded jumper, bookbag etc) we could only buy via the online shop once you had a code and we didn't get the code until after the start of term. So was a rush if you were worried about that sort of thing.

I’ve left ordering the things I needed for this term to this weekend, teacher so not uniform but did have some things I needed like new lunchbag and travel mug. I have ADHD and just didn’t really think to order anything until this weekend. Plus I wanted to wait until payday anyway as had a number of unexpected expenses (car related) at start of holidays and was nearly in my overdraft.

I don’t get paid until the 28th of every month, and Julys wage had to see me through the holidays and the ridiculous cost of school holiday childcare.