It's a small thrill. Kids love getting a new one each year. If it doesn't break the bank. I ask them. I don't assume.

We wash the back pack (don't dry it) and it holds up well.
The only reason my son got a new back pack 1/2 way through 2nd grade is b/c the one from kinder was too small (Land's End Med). We had to go up a size. He will use this one till at least middle school.

Anonymous wrote:We get the cheap stuff on purpose. It holds up for the school year fine.
The kids' taste change by Fall so, for example, last year's Sofia the first backpack is no longer their interest anyway.

Ditto. My kid is young, and her backpack is always filthy by the end of the year (in a won’t come clean anymore way). So it becomes her around the house backpack (for taking books to the library, toys on road trips, etc) and the previous backup bag gets tossed. Her lunchbox becomes the backup one in case her main one gets lost or destroyed. I also use it for snacks/drinks on trips to the playground or car trips since it’s insulated.

When she gets older and doesn’t want cute patterns, and takes better care of her belongings, then she will get a higher quality backpack and it won’t get replaced every year.

I've been buying some nice backpacks at Target and they usually last about 3 years. The problem notebook sizes are getting larger with each grade, and one kid is very fond of those extra big cloth organizer notebooks which doesn't fit well into a regular backpack. We took the new notebook right into the backpack aisle at Target and figured out which backpack would hold it well. It's been a year old now and it has held up nicely.

Lunchboxes typically last us a year or two, and I buy nicer backpacks with the intent of using them for 3+ years

No way! My 15 y/o DD is on her second LL Bean backpack. The first she got in kindergarten and the second in 6th grade.

I know she wants a new fancy Osprey backpack for next year but she has to pay for it herself since her LL Bean pack is still in great condition.

I had been, but I’m not this year. It’s held up pretty well. I’ll probably get a new lunchbox though, those get grimy.

I bought LL Bean backpacks when they started K. Full-sized ones (they had a cheaper, mini-backpack for pre-K and we did replace those). They are on year 5 for my DS and year 3 for my DD and are holding up great. I dump them out and spot clean them every so often.

Have not had great lunch with lunchboxes lasting as long and this is where we've let them get something cheaper/trendier. Although my mom has bought them pricier options (from Garnet Hill I think) that have also fallen apart. So we get a new one every couple years.

Lunch boxes get replaced more often than backpacks. My rising 7th grader is on her 3rd backpack (will last at least another year, maybe two), my rising 5th grader is on her second, she will probably keep that next year as well. I also hate the disposable aspect of our soicety, and try to reuse as much as possible.

The goal is to make everything last as long as possible. We are picky, and try to buy the best quality.

Anonymous wrote:We get high quality items that can handle multiple years of use. Our society disposes way too much, and I really feel the need to push against that.

Exactly.

No, only if it gets really worn/stained/damaged. Why be wasteful? Why teach that?

Through 6th grade we’re on our 2nd lunchbox & second backpack. We replaced somewhere around 4th or 5th.

We have had PBK lunchboxes and backpacks and now UA both, and they have held up very very well.

We get high quality items that can handle multiple years of use. Our society disposes way too much, and I really feel the need to push against that.

No. It seems like a huge waste of money unless they’re really unusable. My son’s from PreK just broke this year (finishing up 2nd) so he was able to start using the one I got him for next year early.