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?

Collar bones can be permanently disfigured by tote style bags. The weight of books in bags is alarming. If someone could make shopping trolleys trendy…

Buggy bags & changing bags? 😂 Surely only if you also have preschoolers/going to the gym? A lot of us work after the school run & have older children as well as primary aged. I’ll take my buggy bag & changing bag on my commute & for parenting my 10 & 20 year old 🙄😂

Yes, surely for the little ones, because that's exactly what I said in the post you quoted:

"Its all buggy bags and changing bags for little ones."

I wore my back pack on one shoulder throughout school, no one would be seen dead wearing it on both shoulders. I have regrets now! And year my mum bought us duffle bags for school, another cause of back pain.

All the primary school children where I am use backpacks though, on both shoulders. They have textbooks to carry so they can be pretty heavy. My teenager switched from backpack to a crossbody bag about a year ago and it gets so heavy as some days she's carrying textbooks for 7 subjects! But she bikes to school so the bag goes in the basket which cuts down on bag carrying time but she still has to carry it all day at school (no lockers). She even used it for her carry on luggage on holiday.

We had leather satchels when I was at high school - a long time ago - and I had a small suitcase at primary school. I've never seen a primary school child with a handbag (of any kind) here, or a high school student either.

My dd always had so much stuff to carry that using anything other than a rucksack was not an option. She went to quite an academic school and nearly all the other girls had rucksacks too.

Aaw ♥️

Maybe sad in primary, especially as young as 8/9. It’s totally normal in secondary though and was even when I went 20 years ago. I wouldn’t have been seen dead with a backpack past year 7, most girls wouldn’t. My DD’s are teens and the same, they have the Longchamp handbags.

Yes I’ve noticed this , I think it looks strange bag is nearly as big as them . And yes can see them struggling to carry them .

It must be your area. Every child has a large homework folder, pencil case, water bottle, no way to fit these in a handbag.

My handbag is much lighter than my backpack…

Oh yes, I remember the baskets. They started as a way to bring the meal home that you had made in the cookery lesson.

I hate to see it. I have lifelong back and hip problems requiring surgery,.which started during years of carrying a huge heavy messenger style bag in secondary school. As well as the insane shoes we used to wear.

They won't listen to us though!.Trends are very persuasive at that age.

We had briefcases when went to school!

All my DDs homework is online! All she has to take is drinks bottle and snack, she also has sun cream and tissues and a few other bits. Her shoulder bag is big enough for this.
They don't even need to take a pencil case unless they particularly want to.

At DD's secondary they all have to have an iPad, as you say most homework, apart from art etc, is online. But still needs to carry her lunch, water, PE kit, plus the iPad. She and all her friends have black rucksacks as can't fit all that in a handbag. I don't see any of the children with handbags at any of the grammars around us, maybe a few at one of the comps but still in the minority

Only noticed this in my junior school last year, seems like it’s become trendy to carry handbags instead of back pack. I’ve never seen year 5/6 girls in very short skirts until last year and was very shocked that their parents were allowing their very young girls to go to school with extremely short skirts, you usually see secondary girls do this. When my niece was in year 6, her and a lot of the girls would wear gingham dress in spring/summer, now it seems only girls upto year 3 and some in year 4 will wear it, and the older girls will wear very tight short skirts. It’s sad bc kids should be kids, they have forever to be adults.

Yep, at DD's school most wear summer dresses year 3 and 4, and skirt and polo shirt years 5 and 6. But only year 6 seem to have an issue with the very short skirts

Different styles go in and out of fashion. I remember in the 80s we carried those jelly bags which where like jelly shoes. Basically hard plastic bags that clipped together and had holes in. We had to put a carrier in the bag to keep the books dry. Definitely not practice looking back but that was the fashion. These handbags will also go out of fashion and the next thing will make an appearance.

I think you missed the point, it is so bad for backs. Kids should have rucksacks because they can be worn on both shoulders and let them be hands free.

There are good rucksacks for kids, I just don't get why parents buy hand bags, you can't even sit on them at the bus stop.

Objectively, sure. But then we get into what level of risk is acceptable. Those horrible little plastic chairs have no back support, for example, and they sit on the all day.

Not to mention those annoying string bags schools often recommend for PE kit - I still remember them feeling like cheesewire 30 years on.

And where do we land on bookbags?

Our school have banned backpacks on the grounds of space 🙄

Realistically kids are at the fittest point of their lives and carrying a few books for less than 20 minutes each way (probably far less if you look at the state of parking around primary school). So actual posture problems are miniscule.

Bit too close to home maybe? If you have a primary aged daughter that is dressed in heels, wearing a make up and carrying a handbag just own it.

Lol! I had a record bag that I used for school! It was so impractical for books (it being made for records and all). Even worse, it had dividers in it (to organise your records) that made it even more impractical. I thought it was the height of coolness at the time.

I remember back in the 70s having a green plaid satchel and having to cary my soaking wet swimming stuff including wet pjyamas and plimsolls for life saving lessons. Think pool was about 25 minutes walk from pool It was so heavy and i was guite small for my age

On a sidenote, I have absolutely no recollection of using a bag of any sort for primary school (early 1970's). I wonder if it was needed then, or I just can't remember. I do remember starting secondary school with a briefcase (😮) and winding up with a Chelsea Girl plastic bag, lol.