Whether or not to give a child back to school gifts is a hot parenting topic. Some parents think back to school gifts encourage self-esteem and academic performance. Others feel gifts essentially bribe children into learning, when learning should just be expected from them.
A third, and somewhat sneaky, option exists. Choose school supplies the child needs, but seem like gifts to the child. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite back to school gift ideas.
Themed Backpacks
Chances are good that the backpack you bought your junior scholar for last year looks like it’s been dragged through the mud (it has), ripped on something sharp (it has), and set on fire (let’s hope not). Kids are hard on backpacks, is what we’re suggesting here.
Kids also switch interests quickly—what was hot at the beginning of the last school year is old news now. Choose a themed backpack that matches your child’s latest obsession, and stock it with school supplies and other back to school gift ideas.
Novelty Pencils, Erasers, and Notebooks
It’s a given you’ll need to buy pencils, erasers, notebooks, crayons, and other essentials at the start of the school year. It doesn’t need them to be boring. Decorative pencils and stationary are fully functional, but more likely to bring a smile to your child’s face than plain, ordinary supplies. As for notebooks, teachers often have children personalize them with doodles and drawings, so why not add some fun stickers to really make your child’s school supplies stand out?
Personalized Lunch Boxes
Personalized lunch boxes are popular back to school gift ideas. Food-safe, beautifully illustrated, and emblazoned with your child’s name, there a loads of options out there to make their lunch boxes really stand out in the cafeteria.
Books and Little Extras
While most of our back to school gift ideas are practical, you can jazz up school supplies with a few little extras. If you’re proving colouring crayons anyway, why not add a fun colouring book? Colouring improves fine motor skills, so it technically counts as school supplies, right?!
Books are a vital part of the learning process, and encouraging your child to read is never a waste. Try to find books that make children part of the story, and help develop a love of reading that serves kids well throughout school and all the way into college. Whether your child dreams of being a doctor, a firefighter, an actor, or a dinosaur rancher, the education they need to make those dreams reality grows out of early learning.
See you in the classroom!
Danay Bouzala, Director of Drama