What Your Child Actually, Really, Truly Needs To Go Back To School
While many stores put up their back-to-school displays just as soon as the last echo of Fourth of July fireworks had died away, August is the month in which back to school prep gets serious. The National Retail federation is predicting that per-family spending will hit an all time high this year, at $696.70. That will result in a grand total of $26.2 billion spent. (For perspective, 2019 Valentine's Day spending was predicted to be around $30 billion.)
It is in the nature of human parents to overbuy for their children (raise your hand if your nursery had a beautiful changing table that ended up being one more shelf while you changed diapers on a bed, a couch, a table, or any other convenient flat surface). Parents get worried about making sure that their child has everything a student could possibly need for that first day of school, but as someone who taught in a classroom for almost forty years, I have one word of advice.
Relax.
The retail back-to-school world has improved considerably in just the last five years. Where office supply stores used to post "This is what you must have or your child will flunk out of school and bring endless shame to the family" lists, now they take a less prescriptive approach, simply saying, "Here's a bunch of school supply stuff that you may or may not need for your child." Many stores actually allow teachers to post a back-to-school supplies list for their classroom which families can then look up.
Sites that aren't actually in the business of selling these supplies (like Real Simple and Good Housekeeping and Great Schools) still offer shopping lists. These should always be viewed with a critical eye. All of them are dauntingly long. Some lists still include items like protractors and non-blunted scissors; do not send your child to school with pointy, sharp objects. Some suggest six different kinds of writing utensils. Elementary lists suggest that the student arrive on the first day armed with a closet full of arts supplies (crayons, markers, glue sticks, glue bottles, art smock).
I fully appreciate the excitement of shopping for stuff; as a retired teacher, one thing I miss from my working days is shopping for office supplies. Shopping for supplies can be part of the process of building excitement for the school year. But here's the complete list of all the material objects your child needs for the first day of school: CONTINUE READING: What Your Child Actually, Really, Truly Needs To Go Back To School
