During the tween years you may see an evolution in back to school prep. As you enter the tween years, your tween may be reminding you about the new outfit he needs for the first day of school. But as your tween gets closer to the teen years, he may become more lackadaisical about back to school shopping.
So, how is one to deal with tweens and school shopping? The easy answer is ask her. Does she want a new outfit for the beginning of the school year, or would she prefer to wear something she already owns. At the age of ten, my daughter would have wanted something new for the first day of fifth grade. By seventh grade, she was happy to wear what she had.
Of course, another item of concern is his actual wardrobe. Has he had a growth spurt? Is the clothing in good shape or worn out from constant wearing? Take an hour and go through his closet together. He’s not a little kid anymore; he should be part of the decision making process as whether to keep, donate, or trash.
Once you know your tween’s wishes and the status of her wardrobe, you can plan together. Your tween definitely should be part of the shopping expedition. Each tween has her own sense of fashion, and certainly she’d like to voice it, whether it be last year’s sweatshirt or new customized item from the The Tee Hive.That doesn’t mean that budget shouldn’t be considered, but try to let her have some say.
Speaking of budget, now is a good age to explain money and shopping to your child. Maybe he really, really wants a certain shirt that is more expensive than your budget. Explain this to him. Perhaps he could find some odd jobs to do for neighbors to earn the money to buy the shirt for himself. Or he could ask for it as a gift for a birthday or holiday. You also can show him that for the price of that one shirt you could buy four other shirts at another store.
Outside of the clothing shopping, there are the back to school supplies. My biggest piece of advice in this is to check last year’s backpacks, children’s closets and desks. You may have more pens, pencils, and notebooks than you realize. My second piece of advice is to review the school supply list carefully. Some districts send generic lists, which include items that aren’t actually needed. Talk to parents with older children to see if they truly needed every item on the list.
The school year is drawing closer. Although your tween wants to enjoy every second of summer and not think about school, be sure to carve out a little time to make all shopping plans are in order.