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?

Haven’t bought everything yet. Only got shoes & skirts & socks so far. It’s ok. The shops are all open tomorrow. It’s just white shorts and plane coloured jumpers and some trousers. Not anything fancy.

Kids tend to grow over summer. I always wait until the last week. Ds1 grew 2 inches and 2 shoe sizes in 9 weeks! he only wore his birthday (July birthday) converses a single time before he outgrew them.

But you know OP- you continue thinking the whole entire world experiences their world the exact same way you do. That'll do you fine as you go along.

I haven’t bought my son’s school shoes yet, will get them tomorrow but I’ve been skint and I didn’t want to buy them too early incase they suddenly didn’t fit him

Your kid hadn’t grown in 4 months? Bit weird.

Mine are two sizes bigger than they were in June. Major growth spurts here every single summer.

And this is why I find it really annoying that it can sometimes be really difficult to buy uniform at the end of the summer. You either have to guess how much your kids are going to grow or end up with the wrong size. There are constant posts on our school page with people trying to swap sizes at this time as they either have to large or two small sizes.

Really why can't we just buy it now when we need it rather then 2-3 months in advance. Same with bloody school shoes our local shop will hardly have any choice come half way through August and they say I'm a bit late to buy shoes. But really why would I want to buy new ones in July when they don't go back to school until September.

Grrr rant over.

İt takes half an hour to look at school dresses in Asda and queue up to pay for a few. İt's really not a big deal if you go the day before term starts and get a few more the following week if stock is low.

This is me! My son starts on Wednesday, I bought all his uniform in July. Thankfully I left cutting all the tags off/ironing in labels until last week because when we did another trying on session, half of it is too small or will be very soon. So I frantically returned some bits and had to search for bigger sizes. Next time I'm just gonna leave it until later!

I can't buy uniform until he starts Thursday. School gave us 2 sets but the messy buggar will need more. Still don't know what the PE kit is. How would you cope? 😀

Even if I could buy it though it wouldnt have been done until now because they grow like weeds in the summer

I am with you and you get much better prices.

Maybe they had to wait to the end of the month to be paid

I don’t think it’s so much about being last minute, but about being surprised that being last minute means low supply. Unless this is all first children entering reception, it happens every year.

People also get paid at the end of July, for all the ‘it’s just been pay day’. And as for the growth spurters, surely you don’t buy ‘to fit’, you buy to grow into so you’d buy the next age up.

It's easily done
Last year DD started reception. I had all of her uniform by end of July. Most I'd got second hand from her place being confirmed in April. Then the weekend before we had the start of a heatwave so I had to go and find some summer dresses to put her in. Wasn't planning to but it was over 30 degrees and pinafores and cardigans were not going to work. I wasn't expecting to buy summer uniform for September otherwise I'd have been sorted.

My DD grows over the summer. I can't afford summer holiday camps in july / august so have to wait until September paycheck

What is hard to understand a lot of people are struggling financially atm?

I leave shoes till the end of August because its likely that my child's feet could change size in 6 weeks.

Same! Won't be making that mistake again, cost me big time 🤦🏼‍♀️

I don’t think it’s so much about being last minute, but about being surprised that being last minute means low supply. Unless this is all first children entering reception, it happens every year.
It's because I object to on time being considered last minute and therefore stocks are low. I want to be able to buy back to school stuff when they are going back to school. It pisses me off I'm forced to be ahead of time and stock control means I'm not allowed to be doing it when I want to.

Went past the local uniform shop today and there were queues outside, they had set up barriers. I think most schools have inset tomorrow, so still plenty of time!

We was on holiday for 2 weeks, then my DS visited grandparents the other side of the uk for a week, then we had family over from abroad and we both work full time, plus all the usual weekend football games, birthday parties etc etc!

🤷‍♀️ We still need some pe kit 🤷‍♀️

Why on earth would you think about school stuff during the summer holidays?!

Our school changed its uniform. Clothes that meet DD's needs and the school requirements, in her size, have been out of stock since before the beginning of the holidays. There are none available in the country as the store has asked.

I've been to so many clothes shops and I am not prepared to pay £30 for a pair of school trousers.

Not having all the uniform is not from lack of trying.

Other people I know have to wait for their August pay day. Otherwise they don't have money to feed their children during the school holidays.

I was always the day before. I always moaned and always said I'd be organised next year 🤷🏼‍♀️

Last one is going into Y11 this week, I've told him it's not worth getting new when he leaves in a few months 🤣

I bought school uniforms for mine before they were born. I reckoned I'd have two boys and two girls. I wasn't sure what school they would go to do I bought uniforms for 132 schools in the surrounding 20 mile radius. It was such a stress reliever knowing I was prepared when they finally arrived.

Buy the next size up as many shops don't sell school uniform after October, unless buy online.

As to why people haven't bought school unform yet. There are people who leave things to the last minute and usually with no success. Such as pumpkins on Halloween, Easter eggs on Easter Saturday, Mother's/Father;s Day cards on the day etc.

I don't think they trying to be a smug bastard, really.

And it's never occurred to you that people have different circumstances to you, different pay cycles, income, and financial commitments?