Back to school: must-haves for a successful start

Your little one will not be carrying any heavy books, so a backpack with a capacity of 10 litres is big enough. This can easily hold a drinking bottle, fruit or other snacks, a lunch box and a toy. There are several school bags for kindergartners to choose from with all kinds of cheerful designs, so take your pick! If possible, choose one with separate compartments or a front section for storing a change of clothes. After all, accidents can happen quickly, but if the teacher can easily find the clean set of clothes, the problem will be solved in a jiffy.

A 10 to 20-litre backpack with several compartments is perfect for primary school. It has plenty of room for a drinking bottle, fruit in reusable containers, a lunch box and homework. An extra jumper or light raincoat can also easily fit inside. Choose a model with adjustable shoulder straps so that the backpack grows along with your child.

The apple of your eye will need quite a few more supplies from primary school onwards. It’s best to give the kindergarten backpack another use because your child will be using a slightly larger backpack from now on. One with a storage capacity of 10 to 15 litres is perfect to start with. It holds more but won’t make your child look like a walking backpack. A padded back and extra straps help distribute the weight better and offer extra comfort.

A 20 to 40-litre backpack is perfect for secondary school. After all, teenagers tend to take quite a lot with them each day. One that’s big enough to hold a well-stocked lunch box and drinking bottle, writing supplies, a calculator, books, notebooks, schedule, etc. We recommend choosing an ergonomically designed model. This will ensure that the weight is distributed better and offer optimal wearing comfort. Last tip: a (built-in) rain cover is nice to have in our climate.

A school bag should weigh no more than 10% of your child’s body weight. If in doubt, take out the scales! Also, make sure that the heaviest items in the backpack are placed as close to the body as possible. So, tell your kids that they need to put those heavy notebooks and books at the back. Preventing back pain is better than trying to cure it!

Your little rascal’s age and activities determine which drinking bottle is best. Kindergartners, for instance, should have a child-friendly (e.g. leak-proof!) bottle with a capacity of less than half a litre. Once your child starts primary school, a trendy Dopper is an excellent choice: a reusable bottle and cup in one! Teenagers can be sent on their way with a drinking bottle that holds at least half a litre.

Insulated bottles are useful for keeping drinks cool during a hot day trip or keeping soup nice and warm. Do you have athletic youngsters? Then it’s a good idea to have a quality sports bottle. Some final words of reassurance: all drinking bottles in our collection are both BPA-free and 100% safe in terms of materials.

• Make sure your child is easy to see in traffic. Check whether your child’s bicycle is fitted with the required lighting, and make sure they always wear a reflective vest. Not exactly hip or cool? The reflective vests from WOWOW are sure to grab their interest.
• Make sure your child wears a bicycle helmet.
• Map out the safest route beforehand, even if it’s not the shortest one.
• Practice cycling this route together with your child(ren). This lets you point out any potential dangers and teaches your child how and where to cross the street safely.

A change of clothing, leak-proof drinking bottle and a lunch box with a treat are the most important things to bring. You can attach a name label to the backpack – and just about everything else. Fruit is the perfect snack but easily ends up crushed in a backpack. Fruit containers to the rescue! Got everything packed? Your pride and joy is ready to venture into the classroom!

First of all, be really enthusiastic about school! You can tell stories about it or find a good storybook about going to school. Above, you can read about what you should put in their backpack, so you won’t forget anything. But the most important thing to remember is to pack the backpack together. This way, your child knows exactly what is in it and where. Choose child-size containers and drinking bottles that are easy to open. You might want to practice this at home first. Then the countdown can begin! Before you know it, they’ll be itching to go to school!