Previous entry: 
Next entry:
Who buys their child three backpacks?
I got a little bit of helpful advice from my son's middle school principal. I had just shelled out $35 or $40 for a new backpack. And she suggested I buy one or two more. 
Great idea!
The principal advised in a letter to parents that our kids could really have their crap together if they color coordinated their backpacks to the classes of the day. And I quote:
"Parents have found it helpful to have two or even three different colored backpacks to maintain organization at home, especially in th emornings when everyone is in a hurry to get out of the house.''
Hmmm, I thought. Did principal Kris Black read this in a Martha Stewart magazine?
The school, Seminole Middle in Plantation, is on block scheduling, so on Tuesdays and Thursdays they have four 85-minute classes, and on Wednesdays and Fridays they have four different classes, and on Mondays they have a short version of all eight classes.
I asked Creed what he thought of the idea.
"Creed, do you want me to buy you different colored backpacks for your odd and even days?''
"No,'' he said indignantly.
"Why not?' I asked.
"I'm not organized!,'' he said, as if the word "organized'' was a disease.
"Yes," I said, picturing his messy closets, "I know.''
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
You don't NEED to shell out $35 for a backpack. It sounded as though the school was just trying to give some helpful advice to anyone that was having problems. If you 're not having problems then why worry about it?
Posted by: why make it a negative | September 2, 2008 5:32 PM
I did this for myself in college when I was a full time student who commuted. My books stayed in the car (unless I needed them); made it easier so that I wouldn't have to keep emptying and refilling the same bag. But also these were old bags from high school, so it wasn't like I was shelling out the money for a new backpack.
I can see how it can be helpful, but I can also see how it would be a pain--especially if your child only has one backpack.
Posted by: Kristy | September 3, 2008 4:39 PM
Honestly, I would have loved to have had three backpacks, because I am an organized person. But I sure don't think it's a good idea to force that kind of nutty organization on your kid.
Posted by: Brittany Wallman | September 3, 2008 4:45 PM
Okay, that's just plain anal.
And in a way, ironically, lazy.
Brittany, one of these days we're going to have a cocktail together.
Or a latte'.
Whatever.
I think we have a lot in common.
Posted by: Trixie_ | September 11, 2008 12:44 PM
This is a nightmare.
A. Too expensive
B. We tried it -- same school, in fact -- it didn't work, just made the kid cry
C. Don't get me started on block schedules
Posted by: Miss Suzy | September 15, 2008 11:24 AM