What the Strategist Parents Are Buying for Back-to-School
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After rounding up ourback-to-school guidewith our favorite expert-recommended and personally vetted products, I was curious about all the new things the Strategist parents are getting for the new school year — so I asked them. Below, a condensed and edited transcript of our chat.
Sneakers
Julia Edelstein, senior editor:Sneakersfor my two boys, who are 8 and 11 and super-active and athletic, are the things that I spend the most money on. I do not buy cheap sneakers. I just bought my 11-year-old two identical pairs of women’s Brooks at Super Runners Shop. He is so active and basically alternates between the two in case one gets soaking wet or something happens to them, and they pretty much last through the entire school year. I also got insoles for them fromSurefoot, and I’m probably going to buy those tether things to replace the laces.
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I often find that kids’ sneakers for somebody his age are really limited in supply and you can’t go to a shoe store and try them on. The trick for boys’ shoe sizing is to get them the little-kids size when they’re little boys, and when they’re in middle school, get them a women’s-size shoe because their feet are usually wider than girls’ feet. A wide women’s shoe fits a boy well, since the men’s sizes often don’t go that small. You can go to an adult shoe store and find a lot of options for a 10- or 11-year-old in women’s sizes, and they’re basically identical to the men’s shoes.
Simone Kitchens, senior editor:My daughter has a pair of “inside shoes” that live at school. She wears them in the classroom and also to gym, so they can’t be slippers. I have two pairs from Ten Little. TheEco Canvas Sneakerskind of look like little puffy ’90s skater Airwalks — those are her inside shoes. And then she has theRetro Suede Sneakersthat look like fake Sambas that she wears everywhere and should be trashed already but still look new.
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Winnie Yang, senior editor:Andie, who is starting fourth grade, asked for another pair of Sambas, but not the same black with white stripes that she wore all last year.They’re blue with white stripes. I don’t do much back-to-school shopping. I basically just get stuff when she outgrows it.
There’s actually a very limited selection in her shoe size, which is now three and right at the cutoff for little kids versus big kids. It drives her crazy, because there are still too many shoes with elastic laces, which she considers babyish and not real tied laces.
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Jen Trolio, senior editor:We got nice walking shoes for my girls before our Disney trip this summer. Eliza (10) got a new pair ofNikes. Nora (7) is so devoted to this one pair ofnow-discontinued slip-ons from Bogs, but she is now on her last pair. We are searching for a replacement at this time, but no winners yet.
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Lauren Ro, senior writer:I just got Augie (6) these New Balance sneakers. Last year, he had theBOAsand liked them, but I wanted to try something different. I also don’t like kids’ sneakers to be too trendy or too juvenile, so I thought these were a good balance.
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Coats
S.K.:I’m good with ourcoatsthis year. I bought a bunch of stuff last winter in sizes four and five. She has thisMini Rodini coatthat’s a size five (she’s almost 3) in red. It’s so baggy on her in a way that I like, but it’s going to be good for a couple of years.
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J.E.:My kids lose so many coats that there was one year when I just refused to buy them any nice ones and got them $15 generic-brand coats from Amazon. But I usually buy them two or three new coats every year. I get a heavy winter one, a lighter downish one that’s waterproof, and then a raincoat. I like a bright-yellow raincoat, although my older son is getting a bit old for that. I’ve done all different brands: Target, Hatley, Petit Bateau.
J.T.:Both of my kids were on their second year of their winter coats last year. We usually do not do a lot of back-to-school shopping for apparel before the actual first day. But over the next month, the weather will turn quickly and then I’ll realize,Oh, they need pants now instead of just the shorts that they have been wearing.We have fallen into a pattern of getting them a newlightweight puffer from Primaryevery couple of years. They’re not as expensive as Patagonia and they’re very hardy. They do the job, especially all through the fall. They’re like aUniqlo puffer. They’re lightweight, crushable — whatever happens to it happens to it.
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W.Y.We always get at least two years’ wear from Patagonia puffers and coats, and we’re lucky to get many of them as hand-me-downs, which helps me feel better about buying the others (and usually I buy them during the big semiannual sales). I just bought Andie a newboys’ parkafrom the brand’s resale program, Worn Wear, which arrived pristine and cost nearly half as much as retail.
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L.R.:I got both my kidsZara down parkaslast year, and they’ve been really great. They’re thick, warm, water repellent, and stylish — something I would even wear. They’re good for another season at least. Before that, I’ve gotten anL.L.Bean down coatfor Augie and aPatagonia down pufferfor Solomon (3).
Rain gear
Liza Corsillo, Strategist senior writer:I’m looking for arain suitbecause my husband and Arlo (2) are going to be biking to school and I don’t want it to be insulated. It just needs to cover his outfit and not add extra warmth.
S.K.:We have those super-insulated puffy Patagonia suits, but we also have one from Mini Rodini. It’s a two-piece but with little suspenders, and it’s great but it does have fleece inside and always feels a little too warm, so I’m looking for a shell as well.
L.R.:We have one from Reima that’s really nice. It’s just arain shellthat I got a couple years ago for Augie.
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L.C.:I’m curious if there’s something that’s less expensive than that, too.
L.R.:Yeah, maybe Target has a rain suit, because Jen recommended the snow bib from Cat & Jack that I got. It’s really good. If Cat & Jack has something like that for rain, I would get that.
Trendy things the kids are asking for
W.Y.:Andie is asking for aLabubu, and I’m like,No way. I did get her aSmiski, though.
J.T.:The new thing that I got for both my kids that is very exciting to lots of young girls right now is the Crocs and Touchland hand-sanitizer keychain collaboration. I got one for each kid for their backpacks. A lot of kids have those littleholdersfrom Bath & Body Works, and now I feel like the Touchland Crocs case is the new thing. It comes in a few colors, and they all have the same Jibbitz on them. Eliza went to a sleepover, and a Touchland hand sanitizer was among the gifts. The 10-year-old girls are a little basic, but they’re very much into Touchland now.
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J.E.:My boys are into these keychains for your backpack calledSqueezyMates. They were all the rage, but then the teachers banned them. They come in a surprise pack, so you can’t figure out which one you’re buying. All the boys in first through third grade were into them. They like to trade them and play with them. They’re squishy, and each one has a different pro sports player’s name on them.
Lauren Levy, Strategist editor:Even kindergartners are into them. My nephew likes those.
J.T.:They’re remarkably hard to buy online, but there also isn’t a go-to way to get them. They aren’t always on Amazon, or you have to buy a big package of them and then keep them for birthday gifts for the year.
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J.T.:As far as little trading trinket things, have you encountered Wiglets yet? They’re 3-D printed animals. I saw them this summer in a toy shop, and they were everywhere when we were in Massachusetts, and then I realized that our local Learning Resources has them at the checkout. Again, they’re one of those things that are not super-easily searchable online. They come in everything from capybara and axolotl to various dragons and penguins. They’re jointed and prehensile.
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Backpacks
J.T.:We only get newbackpackswhen they outgrow them, and we have to make a point to the girls that they do not get a new backpack or lunch bag every single year. They are carrying a lot by the time they get to third grade. Some kids in the school district carry a Chromebook back and forth every day. We have upgraded to the bigger State and L.L.Bean backpacks, but I see a lot of Nike and Adidas backpacks, too.
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J.E.:My kids had the cutest backpacks when they were in nursery school, and I totally recommend going all in on something adorable like a dinosaur backpack when they’re that age. I feel like you can use the same one from the twos programs through pre-K, and then you need a new backpack for kindergarten through third grade or so. Also, they start to need a larger water bottle, and the water-bottle sleeves on the early backpacks don’t fit the right size water bottle anymore.
Lunch bags
S.K.:I have two PlanetBoxlunch bags, but one got moldy. The one shaped like abackpackis really hard to air out.
J.E.:We have theLands’ End insulated lunch bag, and it has held up really well. I also recommend thePackitbecause you can put it in the freezer so that you don’t have to add an ice pack.
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J.T.:The Packit worked well for us this summer. We also use the Bentgo chill inside it, so we were doubling up when it was 95 degrees during camp this summer.
L.R.:TheBaggu insulated lunch bagis really good. We still have the L.L.Bean one, too. Those two are easy to clean.
J.T.:I like that Baggu lunch bag, too. It obviously looks the nicest, but it doesn’t have features like pockets or a buckle like theState lunch bagsdo. I like the State one for that reason. It’s also slightly bigger, so it’s just a little easier to maneuver with whatever lunch box and containers you are using.
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L.C.:I’ve really been likingLalo’s new bento boxthat’s made of stainless steel. The lid is silicone, and it also has a silicone sleeve thing that goes on the bottom. We’ve been using it for Arlo to eat dinner out of, but I think it would be a good older-kid lunch situation. And the colors are really nice.
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L.R:Are there any lunch bags that you can wash? I feel like they’re all spot-clean only.
J.T.:They all say spot-clean, but a lot of them will be totally fine if you throw them in the washing machine occasionally and just hang to dry.
More From The Strategist
- The Back-to-School Hall of Fame
- The Best Things Strategist Editors Have Bought This Year (So Far)
- Everything You Need to Outfit Your College Dorm
- The Strategist Summer 100
The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
