Do you buy new everything each school year?
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Anonymous
| Do you get your kids new everything each school year? New backpack, new lunch box, new water bottle, new clothes and shoes. etc. Name brand, designer or generic? New box of markers if the old ones are still good? Should we use the old markers at home and send a new set to school? What items do you reuse from the previous year and what items must be replaced? This is my first child, my first back to school and I'm from a disadvantaged background so I rarely had anything new as a kid. What's the norm for a regular UMC family in DC? When I was a kid it seemed like everyone else had new things all the time but it might just be my perception from being poor surrounded by UMC and rich kids. I don't necessarily want to spoil my kid but don't want them to stand out like I did either. |
Anonymous
| New Backpacks only if there’s an issue with the current one. Same scissors, same water bottles, same lunchbox, (unless there’s an issue with the old one), new markers/crayons/pencils/folders (old ones become home supply). |
Anonymous
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For required school supplies - yes. All new and the brands recommended by teachers.
Back back and lunch box - no. Kid’s is still good from last year. New uniforms and shoes when necessary ( this year they’re necessary). Our school has a policy of donating all outgrown uniforms to a poorer school so we don’t have the option to buy uniforms used. |
Anonymous
| No. |
Anonymous
| A new back to school outfit. Everything else gets replaced as needed. "Needed" includes if a kid says "That's too babyish - I can't bring a fairy princess backpack to school anymore - I'm in third grade now!" |
Anonymous
Forgot to add re clothes and shoes, special first day of school outfit but otherwise buy new as needed throughout year. I have boys and I started buying name brands when they began to care about it, but it’s all generic looking stuff - adidas, UA sweats, tshirts, like that. It all looks the same to me. |
Anonymous
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We are well off, but I was not growing up. My mother bought all new supplies and like 5 new school outfits (which got mixed in with existing clothing). I didn’t get a new backpack every year but do remember getting a new plastic lunch box most years.
My children have PB backpacks/lunchboxes and they do not get replaced unless they have an issue. School provides all the supplies, but I would be that person who bought everything new unless something from the end of the last year was in basically new condition. I buy new sneakers because the summer shoes are always trashed. I buy one new outfit for the first day, but I do tend to purchase a lot of clothing throughout the year because I like dressing my children. |
Anonymous
| We replace backpacks only when they are worn out or too small. New supplies like pens and notebooks and I keep a supply at home to restock through the year. New sneakers every year and new clothes as needed. |
Anonymous
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My kids are in grades 3 and K and we don't really do a big back-to-school shopping thus far. They only get new backpacks and lunchboxes if needed. Sometime in Sept. I will survey their clothes for the upcoming fall/winter seasons to make a list of what they will need.
As for supplies, so far we get whatever is on the list. If they need scissors and we have a pair of appropriate scissors, we won't buy a new pair. I'm UMC now but I grew up poor and "back to school shopping" was a big thing. My sister still lives in that same poor town and back-to-school shopping is a big thing for her. |
Anonymous
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Backpack - they only get a new one if the old one is no longer functional. The only exception was last year when DD (who is now 9) had to start carrying a laptop to and from school and we bought her a rolling backpack. This year, she gave the rolling backpack to her younger sister and we bought her a large Lands End backpack with a padded laptop sleeve. Unless something crazy happens, this is the backpack she'll have until high school.
Lunch bags - we usually buy cheap lunch bags new each year (that said, they barely used their lunch bags last year, and this year ate school lunch almost every day, so we probably won't buy new for the fall, but we'll see how they fare at summer camp). Water bottles - we've had the same ones for a few years now and have only had to replace one that was lost and never found. Supplies -- barely anything gets sent home in re-usable condition. I've been able to re-use folders and scissors every year, sometimes I get back almost brand new erasers and I will send those the next year. I have never received a full set of crayons or markers back, so they just go into our bin for the kids to use at home. Clothes/Shoes - I don't buy specific back to school clothes, I just buy clothes and shoes as needed seasonally/when they are outgrown or on sale for the next season/year. Regarding school supplies - if I find a good deal, I buy in bulk. You will need Ticonderoga pencils, pink erasers, glue sticks, dry erase markers, sticky notes, plastic folders for at least the next 6 years. I have a shelf in my basement with extra school supplies that I look through before I go to the store each July/August. If you can afford it, the PTA sale is convenient, but it is definitely not a good deal. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
This is why I didn't buy my kids the cheap character backpacks in kindergarten. The LL Bean ones have cute patterns but they last for years and aren't too baby-ish. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
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Backpack / lunchbox / bigger ticket items like winter coat - I think if they still work reasonably well I wouldn’t replace. But I also wouldn’t begrudge DC a second winter coat if he really wanted one and I could afford it.
School supplies - schools usually ask for specific items which we don’t always have. Things like binders, scissors, pencils can obviously be reused. |
Anonymous
This sounds like my experience growing up. I loved getting to choose new folders and binders and notebooks every year — that was pretty much it. I hated clothes shopping so I don’t remember that as a back to school thing, just a grudging chore done when necessary. For us, no brand names but my mother let us choose what we liked of the cheapest option at staples usually. |