The remnants of last week’s packed lunches haven’t even be removed from the sides of the lunchbox and already we are seeing ‘Back to School’ adverts and offers of 3 for 2 on ‘back to school’ items. For goodness sake, let us at least enjoy a couple of days revelling in the fact that we don’t have to turn into Sergeant Major Parent in the mornings as we shout commands and orders and frogmarch everyone out of the house.

But no, apparently we must start organising ourselves for the new school term already. Yikes.

And while some new shoes and a couple of new pairs of trousers might be unavoidable expenses, I have a bit of an issue when it comes to accessories such as lunchboxes and schoolbags. You see, my child’s lunch box and school bag were bought brand, spanking new last year and they are still in perfectly good condition (surprisingly!). But, I suspect that most children will arrive in the school yard on September 1st with a brand new bag – and probably with a brand new lunchbox and drink bottle to coordinate - whether it’s Kung Fu Pands 2, or Cars 2 or the latest Disney Princess. Personally, I cannot justify spending another €15 on a bag when the one we have still performs its role very well. I can’t even see a broken zip.

And yet, I can’t help but wonder if I will be a mean and boring parent if I pack my child off for the start of the new school year with the same gear he had last year. He’s six – surely it won’t make him un-cool – or will it?

What do you think? Will you be buying a new set of school bag, lunchbox etc. regardless, or will last year’s be washed out and scrubbed down and sent back in September?

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