A couple of weeks ago I was on a mission to find the best backpack for my daughter. Today is the first day of her school career. She turned four, two and a half weeks ago, and she will be in school for the next fifteen years. A little daunting for me to contemplate, great excitement for her. She gets to ride on the bus!
When I talked with my husband about getting a school bag for her, he asked if we wanted her to have something different, or a run of the mill Walmart special. My main concern was the size of the bag. Most backpacks are HUGE. My daughter is quite small for her age, plus she is four, so many bags are half her size, and just way too big.
I spent a couple of days searching online for the best reviewed bags for small children. A lot of American companies popped up, and many of the brands are not available to me in stores of Sudbury (L. L. Bean, Beatrix, Land's End). I ended up choosing one of the animal bags from Skip Hop, available at Chapters. This company routinely appears on best reviewed lists.
I loved the designs, and the attention to detail. The zipper pull tags correspond to the animal. For instance, the elephant has a peanut, and the dog has a bone. The bags look well crafted, and they have a padded back and straps. They boast an insulated front pocket for snacks. Plus, they are just plain cute. I managed to convince my daughter to take the blue elephant as opposed to the very pink mouse.
Unfortunately, despite being a perfect size for my daughter, the bag was too small (short) to put her agenda inside. Her agenda is the size of a standard piece of paper, and the bags are slightly shorter than that. Also, it would have been a chore getting her lunch bag in as well. Then, I remembered the scrapbook which would be housing her crafts. The more I thought about it, I couldn't justify keeping the Skip Hop bag. I reread reviews, and actually found people with the same problem. The bag was just too small for school. Still, if you can think of a reason why your younger child might need a back pack, I would definitely recommend the brand.
The following week we were back to the shopping mall, and on a mission to find my daughter something she could take to school. Again, most of the Walmart and Sears bags were too big, and many did not have a padded back. The Hello Kitty one was so big, empty, my daughter almost toppled over when she put it on. I really didn't want to buy a pink Dora the Explorer backpack, but at one point it looked as though it was going to be the one (from a narrow booth in the mall, specializing in bags).
I had thought about getting the Crocodile Creek backpack, also available at Chapters. Reviews said it could hold a three ring binder, but was still small enough for younger children. However, these bags don't have padded backs, and are extremely narrow inside. It would have fit the agenda , but not the lunch bag. If you can put the lunch bag inside the backpack, there is one less thing to worry about losing. The designs on the Crocodile Creek bags are sweet. I liked the simplicity of them. They also have matching lunch bags and water bottles. Mastermind Toys was having a promotion of a free bottle with a bag purchase, in case anyone is interested. I couldn't justify the $26 for such a simple bag.
In the end, I bought her a backpack from The Children's Place. Some people had raved about these bags, and they had been a consideration the first time I went out shopping. The nice thing is that there are two sizes. The smaller size is still big enough to hold her agenda, and the base is wide enough to put her lunch bag inside. She chose a very pink cupcake design, but it suited her. The price was very nice. The tag said $16.99, but they were on sale for $8.99. A steal!
While waiting for her bus, I noticed two of the girls also had backpacks from The Children's Place, but in different designs. And, at the school, many of the students in the yard had these bags. Maybe everyone heard about the sale. So, in the end, my daughter ended up with a run of the mill Children's Place special. However, how long do these bags last anyway? I spent all this time looking for the ideal bag, and in all likelihood, we will have to buy a new one next year, and the next year and the next... Welcome to the life of a mom whose first child has just started school. We are a little neurotic!
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