Labelling child’s stuff?

[DumbleDork]

My eldest is going to be starting secondary school in September (how this has happened and how he is old enough I really don’t know ).

We’ve spent a small fortune on the kit he needs and I’ve visions of him loosing it all straight away. He lost his coat last year first week of wearing it (luckily it was labelled so returned the next day).

Should I be labelling clothes, shoes, lunchbox, stationary etc at secondary school? Or do most parents not bother past primary school? I don’t want him bullied for it, but the calculator they specified is £25

What do most parents do?

Thanks

Yes! Label everything! My son always started fully equipped but was lucky if he had one own by half term. I don’t label socks (except games socks which are £10) but you better believe everything else is. His uniform costs over £250 all together!
As they are identical it’s easy for the stuff to get mixed up especially when quickly changing for games. A name is going st least give it some chance of getting back to the rightful owner! It’s nit like he suddenly became responsible when he started Y7.

I labelled all blazers, PE kits and shoes. Pencil cases etc, I labelled inside. I wrote the name in sharpie on the bottom of water bottles. If they don’t want something labelled I let them know I won’t be paying to replace it if lost. They are about to go into years 9 & 11 and so far, nothing lost.

I knew of a couple of girls whose skirts went missing in PE, until the teachers copped on and started keeping everyone in until they were all dressed. There is a thriving second hand market for them as they are expensive.

Buy a Sharpie!

Sorry, meant to say, I used a combination of sew on labels, stick on labels, sharpie & laundry pens. Only the PFB has sew on labels with his first and second name - I ordered hundreds when he was 4, in a fit of enthusiasm, and am still working my way through them. Fortunately we have an unusual surname, they are the only kids by that name in the school, so they have worked for DS2 as well.

Fab thanks. I’ve seen stamps for labelling stuff, are these any good? And can you get white ink pads for them as well as black. I’m now thinking for the black blazers. I’ve heard of people cutting name labels out to sell on lost stuff

At our secondary any labelling is considered seriously uncool so make sure whatever you use it’s quite discreet. And as for pencil cases etc get ds to write his name on with a Sharpie. Nobody wants mum’s handwriting on their stuff in yr7 surely.

@MyNameIsCharlesII Your writing makes it sound as if you are currently at secondary school.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a child's name on their possessions. Anyone who bully's another person because of it is quite frankly pathetic, and so is the idea that its uncool.

My children label their stuff. It means that they know where to look for the label. Strangely they all had different ideas on whether they preferred initials, surname or initial plus surname. List items sometimes go to general lost property rather than back to them so important that it's labelled.

I use a silver Sharpie to label dark items and write first initial. Last name 7S on the waistband for things such as skirt, PE shorts etc. Black Sharpie for labelling the collar of shirts. I also put DC's initial and last name with my phone number inside bags, PE bags, on musical instrument cases, back of bus pass and engraved on keyring attached to door keys.

Yes to labelling but more discreet. I got really small sticker which also survive the wash.

Saying that even with labelling DD’s whole arts kit, A2 size clear bag with all stuff inside, vanished for 2 months. But when it was found somewhere it was returned.

i just used a sharpie for everything!