So weird that they make kids buy them ugly square looking things.
In junior and high school, i always had a Kipling Backpag, great lumbar support, could hold loads of books ,strong as sturdy.
Believe it or not, i still use it for my weekly shopping
I've noticed they even have them with the optional wheels these days..how easy can it be? no dragging it on your shoulders anymore..
I've seen kids age 7 running around with the hard square school bags.. skinny kid, big strong frame school bag sticking out 10 cm each way, and him knocking down everything and everyone on his path .. how is that any good?
Yep. Kipling are still the ones to have in Belgium. They're not cheap either but are incredibly hardwearing. We've got one here and it looks like new even after 6 years heavy use.
Not sure the ones with wheels are better as the kids have to twist their backs to pull them along and the noise of several of them rolling along is just horrendous.
I'm not sure in Vaud but my son calls them cartables. I think they're more popular in the Swiss German parts as not many of the kids have them here in Neuchatel.
I think those school bags are the most horrific things to grace the face of the earth! Sorry.....and the cost of them? Hell no!! lol.
I nanny for a 7 year old who has one, and I nearly spat out my drink when my boss told me the cost of it!!! She spent over 300 francs inc pencil case, and snack box etc. AND they look awful! I just do NOT understand it.
My charge got one when she started first grade, and decided she deff wanted a pink one, and now she hates it.....my boss is not giving in though, and making her use it for at least the next 2 years, and I don't blame her. Spending that on a bag is outrageous!!! I used to have a £10 school bag when I went to school, even less if my mum could find one I would use for less. I was kinda lucky though, as I went to school when the drawstring bags with the strings for the straps, which cost about £5.00/£6.00 ish.... Lucky me hey?
We bought our daughter ́s "schultig" in waldshut for around 120 euro...its a good brand if not one of the best (says hubby), "Scout" if im right, standard, complete with accessories, warranty and tax back.
I bought my son's one in Manor and they varied in price massively. Luckily for me, my son's favourite one (he just wanted one with a car on it) was one of the cheapest! It was 55 CHFs and included a pencil case and one of those stationary cases with pens, pencils, ruler, rubber etc. It was one of the best bags in my opinion with regard to the number/layout of pockets and how easy it was to open (especially for a 6 year old). I certainly wouldn't value it at 200 CHFs less than some of the others - and the kids at school certainly don't know the difference!!
You can also buy them for a similar price at Coop (our big Coop still had some in last week) and even Aldi had some cheaper ones a while back but not sure if they'll still have any.
Luckily we had been warned about these bags before my son started in 1. Klasse last week. It's hard trying to make sure you know everything the locals assume you already know, isn't it?? Good luck in your search!
They are certainly not compulsory. Buy your kid whatever he thinks is cool. With the price on those things, you can get him a Spiderman's for Mondays, a Superman's for Tuesdays, a Hulk's for Wednesdays and so on. HE will be the envy of all the volvo-pack boys.
Oh gosh, I feel for you (and your son) I really do - it is hard when you don't know everything because you're not Swiss and some things are just assumed. We had a list of stuff to get and fortunately I have colleagues at work with same age kids who had warned me of what's "important" and what not - otherwise I would have had no clue.
Check out Coop or Manor for reasonably priced school bags as previously posted - because school has already started you may even find a discount. Good luck.
At least you can get them locally here, my daughter attended a German school in California where all the German/Swiss and Austrian expats has the pre-req strange square bag and we ended up buying it online from Germany and having it shipped to the US the most expensive school bag ever but she was delighted...for everything else there is master card right?
I grimaced and bought my 7-year-old a square cartable last year and it looked perfectly new this morning as he wore it to school again.
Now just wait until your kiddos are in 6eme. My 11-year-old daughter worked all summer to earn enough money to buy herself a Longchamp bag to carry her school supplies in.
I didn't believe it for one minute when she told me that all the children have these $130 designer bags. Then walking in town yesterday, what do I see but 3 little twerpie 9-year-olds swinging these things and sauntering down our Grand Rue. Sheesh.
I had to finally buy one because at m daughter's kindy , all the kids came up one day with their bag but my daughter.I was not aware of this tradition and she came home in tears, that she was the only one in her class not to have one. We we were moving to Hong Kong so i did not see the point but it was confirmed by the secretary of the German-Swiss school there that most kids have one. one week before our departure, I did not have time to find one on ricardo but I would recommand all parents to get one second hand on Ricardo or Ebay as they are so expensive. The one I got is expensive but I guess it was the guilty price to pay for taking her away to Asia! And because her new school is also german, I have now to organise the Schultütte!!
Im just at the point at looking at these for my Son who's in his last year of kindergaren - i think we may try and break the mold as he's already got one of these "square book bags" which has the single shoulder strap which he already uses already when he takes extra German.
given they all come home for lunch why they need such big bags is beyone me. i think someome must be taking a backhander from the bag company.
i think he's bold enough to say he's not going to look like a ant carrying his house on his back and wants to look cool so it might be the start of a revolution.
i checked out a few the other week and when i saw the price i asked there the built in IpoD was as for 200CHF its just a complete rip off.
You can get them for a lot less than 200. Wait for the sale, at least 50% off a top make, or go to COOP, who have a reasonable selection, that are normally about 100 or less. The trouble with a rucksack, is that it is not as rigid, so it doesn't spread the weight over the growing child's back, no fluffy dog on a keychain, and it doesn't have the reflective stripes, (and if it does they get covered as it crumples), stripes are important for kids walking alone in winter. Books get dog eared in rucksacks, and your child then looses marks for scruffy work and so doesn't make it to University! A rucksack will need replacing more often, and you can sell the square bags for 30 chf on Ricardo when you are done. Or pick one up there to start with!
They had some in migros here this morning for 79chf. Pink ones for girls and some cars (hot wheels I think) for boys.
To anybody who does get one I would recommend something fairly neutral rather than this year's in thing. What's cool now as they start 1st grade will probably be seriously uncool by the time they reach 4th or 5th grade.
In the UK we had a lot of problems with kids with backache- as they carried large bags on one shoulder to go to school. At least the Swiss square bags allow children to carry weight evenly on the back - so a good idea. They are 'hard' in order to protect books, etc, from crushing. Makes sense really