Dubai: With a spike in school fees in the UAE, parents might want to think about to schoolcutting expenses when it comes to back-to-school essentials.
Year after year, the cost of school supplies seems to increase with the emergence of every new cartoon character and brand.
But there’s another reason why parents must think hard about splurging on their children’s school kit — young children tend to lose items easily.
According to a Gulf News poll, the number one item that children fail to come back home with after a long day at school is stationery.
Out of the 632 respondents, 73 per cent (462 people) voted stationery in a poll asking parents and older siblings what their children or younger siblings frequently lose in school.
Lunch boxes came second, with 11 per cent (67 people) of the votes. Next were books with seven per cent of the votes (51 people). Jackets came fourth, while allowance money was last.
Gulf News spoke to parents who shared their top tips on saving when it comes to back-to-school essentials such as stationery, lunch boxes, bags and notebooks.
Don’t splurge on back-to-school items on children in younger grades, instead look for sale deals and value packages.
“Children lose their things all the time; there is no need to pay so much for items that might get lost anyway,” said Palestinian mother of two, Eman Abu Al Jaberi.
“I don’t think it is worth spending a lot on children in KG1 to grade five because they are still not responsible enough to take care of their things. What I usually do is look for value packs where the bag, lunch box and pencil case is sold together at a cheap price,” said Eman.
When it comes to children in older grades invest in quality products.
“My children are in grade 10 and 12; their books are really heavy so when I purchase products I look for durability even if it means paying more. I think that it is safe when it comes to older children because they have learned to be responsible enough to not lose their things,” said Jordanian mother of two Amani Jaberi.
Buy online and in bulk
University graduate Yousuf Hamad Jordanian suggested this tip, adding that buying products online helped him in save a lot of money when he was at university.
“You won’t believe how much my university’s bookstore used to charge for regular stationery products. Buying a decent notebook would cost me around Dh45. I searched online for university essentials such as stationery and notebooks and found that they are much cheaper online. I definitely would advise parents to do the same as it helped me cut my costs big time.”
Go to places with a lot of variety and direct your children, because mum and dad know best.
Children always try to get their way when it comes to buying products with their favourite cartoon characters on. However, these products can be either poor quality or too costly. For this reason Samar Rasoul from Lebanon, who has three children, thinks that parent’s direction is vital.
“I for one hate it when parents allow their children to buy whatever they want. My daughter wanted a Dh300 Hello Kitty bag that was fragile looking and won’t be able to hold her heavy books without breaking.
“What I do is go to places with a large variety of options and prices like exhibitions and hypermarkets. This way I can guide them into picking something we both like and reach a compromise,” added Samar.
