How do parents prepare their children for the first day of school?

As the start of each new school year approaches, the demand for school supplies increases. Parents look at the offers in the shops and look for the best possible goods to equip their children with for the first day of school.

What goods do parents look for and what criteria do they choose?

There are several basic items that are on each student's parent list:

Backpack

This student item is very vital, both for the first grader and the 12th grade student. Therefore, in early September, interest in the purchase of backpacks by parents increases significantly. The good news is that there is currently a very wide variety of colors, fabrics and shapes of this school item on the market, which makes the choice somewhat easier.

Parents of elementary school students usually focus on buying backpacks with hard backs, wide and comfortable straps and more internal and outer pockets. In addition, the backpacks that are in demand for beginners almost always have an additional strap for fastening at the waist, with light fabric, light-reflecting elements and made of waterproof material, which makes it easy to clean.

For children in the upper grades (up to 8th grade), the backpacks that are most often sought are with two or only one strap. The hard back is not absolutely mandatory, as are the many inner and outer pockets. Reflective elements are great properties, however, since older students already have well-established protective habits, this element is not absolutely mandatory.

Parents do not participate in the purchase of backpacks and school bags for high school students. Usually teenagers choose the item to buy by themselves. In addition, the protection and comfort of the backpack is not a decisive factor, as they are more interested in the design of the item.

Pencil case

The pencil case always goes hand in hand with the purchase of a backpack, and quite expectedly, the model chosen by the parents is dependent on the age/grade of the child. For first-graders and children in primary school, mom and dad most often choose large, rectangular zippered pencil case, in which the little ones can carry all the pens, pencils and felt-tip pens they need. The most sought after are the textile cases, with a soft or hard frame, reinforced on the inside with a waterproof material.

For older students, we are looking for smaller or round pencil case with teak or Velcro fastening. This type of school supplies does not collect as many pens and pencils, instead, takes up less space and is more convenient for older children.

High school students rarely use pencil case, as their curriculum does not include drawing with felt-tip pens and colored pencils. If they still want to have a pencil case, then the parents usually go for a "bag" or a roll-type. These types are small, compact, and realistically, students mostly use them to wear makeup, creams, or perfumes than storing pencils and pens.

Notebooks

When choosing notebooks for primary school students, parents are guided mainly by the list submitted to them by the schools. It describes in detail what size and how many notebooks will be needed for the school term.

As for older students, they usually choose the shape, size and number of sheets of notebooks in which to write. If we have to be more specific, then we can say that teenagers most often choose notebooks with hard, luxurious covers, with a large number of sheets and wide lines.

A major factor in the purchase is the design of the cover of the notebooks. Young people prefer notebooks with popular models, music or movie stars and others on the covers.

Creativity kits

Drawing pads, cutting and coloring pads, plasticine, paints, colored pencils, felt-tip pens, scissors, glue and other similar materials are needed by younger students. When purchasing these materials, parents again consult the list provided to them by the schools.

Water bottle

Water bottles are one of the most sought after items for elementary school students. When choosing this item, parents rely on high quality, safe materials and ease of use.

And to encourage the purchase of these products by children, they producers introduce beautiful applications (popular movie or cartoon characters). Older students rarely use such bottles, and if they accidentally decide to use them, they opt for bottles that are designed for athletes.

Clothing and shoes

Parents hardly interfere in the purchase of clothes for older students, because they know that there is no chance to reaching a consensus with them. However, when it comes to younger children, the parental body has the last word. In this case, usually mom and dad are looking to buy a warm, comfortable winter jacket with reflective elements, warm winter shoes and at least a few sports sets and sports shoes.

Blouses, shirts and trousers made of natural fabrics for boys while blouses, dresses, trousers and skirts made of the same fabrics for girls are also preferred. A large number of parents prefer to buy a more expensive garment, but to be sure that it is made of quality materials and will be comfortable for the child.

How to choose the school items that you sell so that they meet the parental criteria?

Although the goods that parents look for and buy to prepare their children for school overlap to some extent, it is important whether they are intended for primary school students or for older students.

Therefore, it is good to keep in mind the following:

• To meet the demand of all parents, it is good to have goods suitable for both first-graders and children up to 8th and 12th grade. Quite impressively for the items you offer to have quality and comfortable backpacks with anatomical, hard back and wide soft straps for young ones and most modern school bags and backpacks for older ones.
• Choose backpacks, pencil case and other student goods that are of high quality and from popular manufacturers. This will give parents the opportunity to choose calmly and be sure that the backpack or pencil case they are about getting is really of high quality, comfortable and completely safe for children.
• Arrange the items neatly so that as soon as they enter the store, parents can quickly and easily find out which stand to go to to see the school items. To attract their interest, you can arrange a complete set of school supplies for each age.This way, parents can not only see exactly what they will need, but also quickly make sure that if they buy everything from your store, as theyfit into the budget they have set in advance.
• Also consider the price range of the items offered and try to offer school suppliesacross almost all price ranges. This will not only attract more customers, but will also help parents make the purchase that meets their financial capabilities.
• Also comply with fashion trends. You know that they change every year, and if backpacks with cartoon characters were fashionable last school year, this year it could be Fashion Game of Thrones characters or Marvel characters.
  
  Therefore, it is a good idea to look for information about what is fashionable before loading school supplies and to look for a distributor or wholesaler who can supply you with the exact items and quantities you need.

In conclusion

It is difficult to find a parent who does not try to prepare his child for the first day of school with everything he needs. So try to meet the requirements of both mom and dad and children.

This may seem like an "impossible mission", but if you try, you will be able to cope. It is important to remember that for parents, the quality of the goods they buy is important, while for children, their appearance is more important. If you try to offer high quality, combined with the new fashion trends in backpacks, pencil case and notebooks, you will succeed.