To think it's sad to see little girls carrying handbags as school bags instead of practical rucksacks.

[Sophiehoney]

Does anyone else feel like little girls are being dressed as mini versions of their mums far too early?

At my daughter's primary school I'm seeing more and more often that the girls from about year 4 onwards are carrying big heavy handbags on one shoulder. The type that an adult woman might carry. They often struggle to carry them as the weight is all on one shoulder and they are bigger bags designed for adults. They look like they would be much comfier with a proper school rucksack.

I've also noticed a lot of them are starting to have heels on their school shoes and very short school skirts. In primary school.

This isn't just my daughter's school as I also work opposite a primary school and see the same there, and see kids going to other schools on my way to work.

AIBU to think it's all a bit sad?

It’s on trend in the City now 😂

It was a leather satchel in my day. Last day of school people signed it on the inside. No idea what happened to it.

Have things changed? When my DD was at primary she never had many books to carry. Not so many that it would make a tote bag heavy anyway. Once she moved to senior school she started off with a rucksack but the boys would grab the back of the bags and yank them downwards, making the girls overbalance or fall backwards. She switched to a crossbody bag for a while to stop that.

Just retired from 40 years in a primary school last couple of years they possibly needed them to fit in the ridiculously over sized water bottles that sat on the table untouched! And if you suggested on a hot day that they might like a cup of water with lunch the reply was “no I don’t like water!”

I'm old and grew up in australia. At primary everyone had brown compressed cardboard suitcase bags, then attache cases were the thing then old style airline bags.(i had a boac one from travelling to the uk. So I was it!) All of these awful to carry and probably shocking for our backs. But, they were bags, they aren't gateway drugs to mini adulthood. They see big sisters and girls at secondary and think,ooo they look cool. Especially those in year 6 who will be off to Big school. They will be desperate to fit in.and not appear babyish.(though they wont even register on anyone after year 8)

Longchamp are the bag of choice at my DDs school.

@Floppyearedlab interested to know why schools are banning them?

YANBU… I see primary school kids wearing longchamp le pliage bags when I think they should be carrying backpacks but I’m probably in the too old to know what’s cool category now as I’m in my mid-30’s

I wonder if this is partly driving the increase in referrals for back and shoulder pain we are seeing (children's physio). A few years we got a few, usually gymnasts who had over extended etc, but now every 2nd referral seems to be back or shoulder pain. Maybe school should insist on rucksacks worn by both straps, but I'm sure someone would object to 'telling them what to do'!

They seem to carry a crazy amount. My year 5 went in today with 4 books (3 homework 1 reading), forest school kit, lunchbox, water bottle, pencil case, netball kit for after school, her bag weighed a ton. And she walks about 20 mins to school.

Agree re the seats, they use the same one from year 3 to 6 and my daughters knees can't fit under the table so she sits crooked

I've seen the odd one at primary school but the majority have backpacks.

The senior school girls here all seem to be sporting very obviously fake Goyard bags at the moment.

Through secondary school, I lived through the tail end of the Head bag, record bag, Jane Norman bag and large handbag days 😂

The schools around here are all really strict with uniform rules. Not the extreme zero tolerance academy type but strict rules on shoes, skirts & trousers, make up, jewellery & bags.
Theres always parents complaining locally about how unfair the rules are but then when you have schools who don't enforce uniform rules & standards then you end up with young girls in heels, short skirts, inappropriate bags etc.

Teachers can't win either way.

Thank God my DD took a rucksack until she left at 18 (left this summer). Ridiculous taking a handbag to school.

My 9 year old (starts yr 5 in sept) bought herself a River Island shoulder bag with her birthday money to use for school. She was desperate for one. I don't see the harm to be honest!
She doesn't have to carry that much to school.

What's annoyed me is we had a brand new school built but then they asked us not to send backpacks because they can't fit them in the coat room! So they want us using those branded string bags for PE and forest school kit, and then book bags for everything else 🙄 not one sensible bag!

I bought my year 6 GC a River Island tote.
My DD carries a back pack. I don't see the harm. Anything girls want to do is heavily criticised, but the thread about the 11 year old boy wanting a perm, is getting support.

I can honestly say I’ve seen 0 girls with a handbag as a school bag! The reception children have a book bag and years 1-6 have a backpack, largely hype or smiggle….
I have seen a handful of secondary girls walking around with them, but lots of backpacks too.

I don't think that fashion reached up here! In 1975 I was carrying a turquoise shopping bag from Boots, a kind of fake leather and you could get pink as well. I remember because I used to meet my boyfriend after school and he carried my bag for me.

In KS2 they’re allowed a pencil case, it’s optional but it’s most do bring one in. There’s not really enough colouring pencils etc… much easier to have your own than waiting for the colour you need and by that time probably activity is over.
Packed lunch if not having a hot lunch. Even if they usually have hot dinners they will sometimes need a packed lunch for school trip.
If doing an active school club, a change of clothes may be needed and maybe football boots….
Homework wallet/ folder
Reading journal
Sun hat
Sun cream
hat/scarf/ gloves in winter

When we went to live in Spain was amazed to see lots of the younger kids with mini shopping trolleys (as in old lady type not shop trolley) and was told the kids love to use them to take their books to school in as most had quite a long walk. I thought it was a brilliant idea.
I don't have grandchildren or kids that live near me so wondered the other day are girls allowed to use so much makeup for school these days? One girl of about 14 was on the bus the other morning in what looked like a couple of pairs of false eyelashes and so much eye make up on it must have taken her ages to get ready. I can't say anything about the length of her skirt as mine used to be the same.

You’re being unreasonable to say they are being dressed like their mums, as if it’s someone else dressing them.

most girls that age are actively wanting to dress in that way - it’s what’s on trend just now.
in fact, if you look at the majority of mums very few will be walking around with handbags and heels. It’s very much out of style for that generation

Barely any middle aged women wear heels now. Even with dresses it’s usually trainers or flats. Not many have work heels since pre-lockdown

My DD9 certainly isn't copying me 😆 I have a cath kidston backpack and only really use cross body practical handbags! I actually think she's looking at what the yr 6 girls wear/use

I’m in my 30s, and I had a le pliage for school as a teenager. I wasn’t the only one, either.

That's a phase, nothing new. Younger girls try to dress like "women", then they go full on teenagers 😂