At Home : Clothing : Packing a Child's Daypack : Home & Garden Television

Child and family expert Dr. Bra Vada Garrett-Akinsanya shares tips on how to pack a child's daypack for school.

Figure A

Sew a label on the inside of the backpack (figure A) that provides return information in case the pack is lost. Do not sew a tag with your child's name on it on the outside of the pack, where strangers might see it.
Pack the child's bag the night before to cut down on chaos in the morning.

Figure B

Make a list of the items children need on certain days (figure B) of the week, laminate it, and keep it in the front pocket of the backpack or hang it next to where the backpack resides at night. Some examples of items the list should cover are when the child needs to pack gym clothes and gym shoes, the day that school library books are due and the day lunch tickets need to be purchased. Leave a blank category on the list for homework. Write in assignments with a dry-erase marker.

Figure C

Backpacks look alike, so place your child's picture in a small picture frame and hang it from a strap on the pack with a key chain (figure C) to make it easily identifiable. Another option is to paint an identifying mark on the pack with a stencil.

Figure D

Keep the weight of school bags to a minimum, especially considering how much school textbooks weigh. The strain of carrying a heavy bag can have damaging effects on a child. Consider giving a child a small luggage carryon bag (figure D) with wheels to use instead of a backpack.
Keep a small coin purse in your child's backpack, and be sure to keep the purse stocked with milk and lunch money. An empty film canister is a good example for a change purse.
Make sure the backpack is stocked with essentials, such as writing implements and a pocket dictionary.

Figure E

Place an empty cardboard paper-towel tube in a child's backpack to use as a container for papers (figure E). Place the tube in a large plastic bag on rainy days. Simply roll up the papers and insert them into the tube.

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Packing a Child's Daypack