I don’t think you need to have a hard and fast rule that will apply for all their schooling. We got character backpacks for DS1 for 1st and kindergarten and for DS2 this year for 1st grade (his first year of in-person school). We are trying a patterned brand-name backpack for DS1 this year, hoping it will actually last better than the cheap character ones. If it actually does last, we will probably go with that from here on out.

Anonymous wrote:The character backpacks are cheap and won’t last a whole school year. Get a quality, smaller backpack to use for kindergarten through second grade, and then revisit in third grade. My son is a senior in high school and I think he’s on his third backpack, ever.

+1 this is so true. The character ones always fell apart long before the school year ended. My HS DD still sometimes uses one of the quality backpacks we bought in elementary

Anonymous wrote:Don’t get a plain one just don’t get one that is too childish or too character specific that they will outgrow it in a year. Kids that age can ruin a backpack in year or two through normal wear & tear. This will probably solve itself but set expectation for son that he needs to take care of it so he can use it next year.

+1

If you want to "customize" the backpack, you can put on pins, or clip-on toys or the like, which are easy to remove when your kid isn't into Pokemon or Paw Patrol or whatever anymore. We buy a new backpack when (1) the old one wears out or (2) the kid outgrows the old one.

I got my DS an LL Bean backpack before Kindergarten. It is still in good shape but he picked one with a dinosaur. So since he is entering 6th I got him a new one. I just got one from Jansport because I didn’t have time to order an LL Bean one, but it says lifetime warranty on it and is one of the nicer ones.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought good quality backpacks and they used them k-5. New ones for middle school.

I can imagine the K-5 backpack got pretty filthy. Was it machine washable?!

I wash backpacks in washer all the time. Except for rolling ones.

+1 for washing backpacks! I also wash the lunch boxes/bags in the dishwasher on occasion and wipe them down daily.

I agree with DH. We get good backpacks that the kids like but are not character specific. LL Bean backpack for a boy has lasted 4 years and still looks practically brand new. Pottery Barn for a boy is just as old but it has definitely seen better days. We will be getting a new one this year. I did size up for 1st grade. It seems like a total waste to get a new one every year or every time a kid changes who their favorite character is. I also re-use supplies from the previous year if they are in descent shape to avoid being so wasteful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought good quality backpacks and they used them k-5. New ones for middle school.

I can imagine the K-5 backpack got pretty filthy. Was it machine washable?!

I wash backpacks in washer all the time. Except for rolling ones.

Get a fun one the first few years and then a plainer and sturdy one for the rest of elementary.

My just-graduated senior had four back packs from K-12. And it would have just been three, except the second one was a rolling backpack that turned out to be a big mistake so I replaced it after a year.

My rising freshman just ordered #4, which should the last one I buy. The first one was a gift, a brand that only lasted through preschool.

Basically, if you choose a quality product (all of our long lasting ones have been LL Bean) then you definitely don't need a new one every year. As pps have said, you can do fun lunchboxes since those do tend to need replacing more often and it's more economical to do so.

My kids used the same one in K-2, another in 3-5. That one was in fine condition to use for MS but wasn't big enough so got another that was used until sometime in high school. DS graduated and will use his HS bag in college.

I agree with PPs that you can do fun patterns/characters in lunch boxes. Or decorate the backpack with pins or hang things on the zipper pulls (DD had quite an assortment of decorations).

At younger ages we bought character ones that only last a year. In late elementary we switched to LL Bean and Lands End. One of those is on it'd 8th year.

I wish I could get my kids a backpack every year because they are such a cute accessory but it is so unnecessary for us. Since preschool we have only upgraded a few times for size and when there was a hole in a cheaper one we got.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought good quality backpacks and they used them k-5. New ones for middle school.

I can imagine the K-5 backpack got pretty filthy. Was it machine washable?!

Yes they are machine washable.

It’s wasteful to get one every year. DD had not problems using the same backpack for multiple years in a row.

They do tend to wear out. We get a new one for school every two years.