It’s that time of year again where groans are mixed with excitement as children and parents get ready for a new school year.
For many though, it has to be a time of year where stress, and even panic, sets in as parents struggle to finance the back-to-school frenzy and keep up with the ever-increasing demands that come with the beginning of September.
From school supplies to a new wardrobe, the price tags are out of reach for many parents, especially when it’s all about the right brand and label.
Even the schools are putting out supply lists to parents that add specific brands to items on that supply list.
You’d have to wonder if this is practical and/or necessary to burden parents with the like. Buying bulk supplies at the top of the school year, you can assume, has its conveniences for teachers who end up frustrated with the kids who forgot to get a new exercise book, whose pencil is used out or whose crayons got lost. But buying in bulk sometimes is not an affordable alternative for lots of parents who are struggling to cover the cost of everything else the beginning of the school year brings.
It’s a brand name tug of war these days and not everyone can buy a Burton or Firefly jacket for their kids to don on the first day of school with the latest brand shoes to match.
And you can be sure; there’s a significant percentage of children who will show up with the hottest new fashion trends and brands whose parents cannot afford it. Many parents are racking up lines of credit in order to have their kids show up at school with the latest look just so they can give off the ‘right’ image in public. And you can bet, it’s not always the kids (especially in the primary grades) who demand the brand, it’s parents who insist their kids wear it and persist on buying it.
Of course a parent is free to spend how they see fit, but the reality is, it often raises the bar of expectation that trickles out to all parents whether they can buy it or not.
When you consider the extremes some go through to outdo the other kids, it makes a strong argument for bringing back uniforms to the schools where all children are dressed alike. It takes the competition out of the attire and allows an even playing field for all children.
Maybe those who are in a position to buy, and can afford to buy, the higher price tag items would then (maybe) pick up some extra school supplies, with the money saved, and drop them off at the local food bank.
Right now in Labrador West the cost of living has never been higher and those who have bought homes in the last couple of years are coping with huge mortgage payments which leaves precious little for the extras that need to be bought. Many of these couples have young children going to school, and whether they work for the mining companies or not, the money going out (for many) is getting to be more than what’s coming in.
The sad truth is, a new school year often means extra worry and financial hardship for too many parents. A new school year should only be exciting because it is a new chapter in learning and development for children, new classrooms, new teachers and new friendships. At the end of the year, it doesn’t matter what brand name a child took to school, it’s about the knowledge and friendships he/she gained.
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