DCs setting off in the dark, wind and rain- laden like packhorses. IS there a solution to the latter?! Monday a.m. rant.

[ampere]

They're 8 and 10 and both small. I feel like a Bad Mummy as they set off for the 15 minute walk to school in THIS weather with their bookbags, lunch boxes, water bottle and PE kits (in a draw string bag). They have smallish backpacks which we use for family walks BUT my cunning plan to use them failed as they just can't get their books (in a plastic zip top wallet to protect them from spills), lunch box and water bottle IN the back packs, mainly because the wallets are A4 square and the top of the back pack curves; because their lunch boxes are only a 1/3 full but need to be rigid as despite it being the 21st century, the school insists all the lunch boxes are slung in a plastic bin together in the (heated) hallway thus the food gets crushed in a padded bag, and CAN I get a small enough water bottle that doesn't leak??

The school try and insist on bookbags v. backpacks but mine seem to be the only ones still carrying them in! They have to bring their frequently unused PE kit home every Friday and they can't leave their water bottles at school. Cos it's Monday morning I'm feeling quite militant about the ridiculousness of this pack horse thing. Can you tell?!

I have a friend whose 2 DSs went to a private prep. Part of the uniform was an oblong bag with a shoulder harness (like a backpack's) into which everything seemed to fit though they didn't have lunchboxes to contend with! I've only ever seen such bags on the shoulders of French school kids, otherwise!

I share your pain ds1 has shuffled off to wait in the pissing rain and dark for a 15 minute walk to a school bus which is routinely 15/20 mins late, but we daren't routinely let him set off later, because sod's law, that'll be the one day the vbus turns up on time....

I'd be btempted to get a normal, plain coloured (uniform coloured?) rucksack for your boys and tell the school to lump it.

My DD is at a private prep and her school bag takes everything. Although the gym kit stays in school all the time which is a help.

Have you thought of going to the local private school supplies shop. The bags have no logos and are expensive buy DD is on her third year with hers...

I am of fthis morning to buy her a coat though. Our walk to school was SOooo wet this morning and she either has a light weight rain coat with a concealable hood which is flipping useless, or a wool winter coat which is no good in the rain.
I am going to but her a big hooded raincaot to wear over her school raincoat and then I will stick it in a bag and bring it home.

DDs lunchbox is this, stupidly expensive, but it is both rigid and insulated and not all corners like the usual boxes, so fits in her rucksack.

www.amazon.co.uk/Lunchbox-Food-Thought-Coolerbag-Red/dp/B001NZFNM6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen&qid= 1259580830&sr=8-4

Her bottle is a Sigg bottle - totally leakproof, we have the 300ml toddler bottle (has grown-up design though). It fits in the bottle pocket on the outside of her rucksack. Sigg do make insulated sleeves that have a clip, so you can clip them to a bag, but these cost extra.

The bookpack goes under the bungee cord at the front of the rucksack, I fold it over as
her books don't usually fill it.

Fortunatley her gymbag stays at school.

School coat - we have a uniform one, which is waterproof and windproof, but has velcro n the hood, spend most of my time pulling DD's hair off the velcro

I am going to lurk for brilliant ideas, since I am going to have to crack this before next school year when DS gets a bus to school. ATM he and I struggle from car to school with book bag, water bottle, and a selection of Games kit (huge bag including trainers, shin guards, etc, etc), separate PE kit, swimming kit, judo kit, you name it..

You must be able to get square-cornered backpacks somewhere?

Can you not help them carry something in the meantime? A large reusable shopper would fit the pe kits, lunch bags and drinks bottles in.

Our school prefers book bags as they fit in the childrens trays whereas backpacks dont and clutter the class room. Water bottles are taken home to be washed daily. PE kits stay at school though so dont need to be carried in that often.

No advice, but did just jog my memory of when by a particularly spectacular bit of timetabling, my Thursdays at secondary school involved me taking a book bag (full) and usually at least one LEVER ARCH file (full), a winter games kit, an A2 Art folder, a GUITAR, AND a full cookery basket for Home Ec.

My mum went spare and pointed out that not every child at the private, rural school arrived via a Range Rover, some of us took the bus - in my case 2 buses, taking a total of 1.5 hours each way, with a half mile walk at the end.

Think in the end I just dumped the guitar at school (nice school, never got nicked) and wore smelly games kit...

My worst days were taking a french horn, a book bag, a lever arch file, and a cookery basket on the bus. But no-one arrived via Range Rover - it was buses all the way for us, and we were all piled high with stuff. I cursed my parents for making me learn thre french horn instead of the piccolo.

My dc carry that sort of amount in backpacks, big enough for A4 book bags and folders to go inside along with lunchboxes, PE kit etc. The school does ask, vaguely, for book bags rather than rucksacks but we ignore it, I often bring 5 or 6 children home and I like them to carry their own stuff. Even my 5yo can carry it quite easily when it's on her back in one backpack.
School puts pressure on to get everyone walking so they can't really complain.

Some backpacks have an outside pocket for the water bottle to go upright.

No French horns or tubas though.

I'm intrigued by this - why do schools insist on book bags rather than backpacks - surely backpacks are more convenient and better for childrens backs? What are their reasons for bookbags??

Gap usually do rucksacks with lunchbags that clip on the outside. This is very handy but of course wouldn't help the op with her daft school's daft idea of lunches in a bin!

We got a very good rucksack from "your school uniform" The junior one is big enough to fit the more than A4 bookbag inside one pocket, plus a PE kit or lunchbox in the other pocket. (not sure if you'd fit both) Then there is a bit at the front for pencil case etc.
All for £8.50www.yourschooluniform.com/catalog/product/GP2072/Junior_Backpack.html

When I was at school, my poor friend learnt the cello, and she used to carry that in some sort of special back pack. had she ever fallen over, she would never have got upright again!!

My DS has a carabena? type clip to attach his water bottle to the outside of his bag, but just a standard backpack ( animal I think ) and it all fits in just fine.

Maybe this is the sort of small, achievable thing that could be one of the MN campaigns?

ie. schools need to allow rucksacks or larger bags and should be providing space for storage. I know that isn't easy to do, nor a funding priority compared to teachers and teaching equipment but it would be 'joined up' to encourage walking (and healthy backs) wouldn't it?

I think it gets worse at secondary school if there are no lockers. I seem to remember reading somewhere that lots of backs, necks and shoulders are damaged at school because of the need to lug round huge quantities of stuff.

Argh, I hate bookbags. They are the most impractical thing in the world.
We have to put the water bottle in the bookbag else its just too much loose stuff to carry. So we no longer use the school bottles as they leak

Luckily PE kit only comes home every half term.

When there's loads to carry in the mornigs, I find it easier to just take my rucksack and put everyone's stuff in it till we reach school. Yes, its big and annoying on the packed bus, but less to contend with than the boys with their hands full trying to hold on and not fall over!

yes, this is exactly the sort of thing that would be a mn campaign.

1. Do they need a water bottle? Is there plenty water available at break times?
2. school dinners
3. Ditch bookbag. Put book in school bag.
4. Tell your kids you only want their PE kit once a term. Just leave it on the peg.

The one thing that is missing from my recommended rucksack is a extra side pocket for a water bottle. We are fantastically luck at DS school, they provide water bottles, and wash them in the industrial dishwashers in the kitchens.

cello?
ha!
try carrying a bassoon!

Our school has book bags for infants and backpacks for juniors.

Bookbags are fine for the infants as no-one takes a packed lunch though they have started to send home the water bottles. They don't even take their own pencil cases (though the bookbag has an internal one.)

Dd's backpag takes her A4 homework folder, reading book, library book, pencil case and recorder & music book.

Pe Kit stays in school though they do have to take seimming kit in once a week.

DS is 5 and he wears his blazer and cap, and carries his backpack (with waterproof coat shoved in), snack bag (he has school lunches but he has to provide a snack and drink for morning break and they have to be in a lunch box/bag type thing that they all put in a big box when they get to school), book bag, and PE kit (4 days a week) in a drawstring bag.

It's a lot but luckily we are there to help him with everything.

DH had a friend at school who was a cellist in the days before those 'rucksack' carriers had been invented. He had to carry it and his bags in a sort of relay - put cello down, carry bags some way up the road, dump bags, run back for cello, repeat till there.

This is one of the reasons I steered DD towards flute