Back-to-School Shopping: A Survival Guide
7 Tips for Buying Wisely
The lazy days of summer are counting down, and for families with kids, that means one thing: They'll soon be shelling out hundreds of dollars on back-to-school clothing, electronics, backpacks and supplies.
Back-to-school spending ranks second only to the Christmas holidays in terms of seasonal dollars, and this year, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend more than $18 billion as kids head back to the classroom. Families with school-age children are expected to spend $563.49 on back-to-school merchandise, a 6.9 percent increase over last year, predicts the NRF.
And all that shopping can come with a different kind of price tag: the stress of spending hours at the mall and the anxiety of spending too much money. So how can parents cope?
"First, take a deep breath and tap into your own common sense," advises Mary Lou Andre, president of Organization By Design, a wardrobe management and personal shopping consultant and author of Ready to Wear: an Expert's Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe.
"Then start a conversation at home before you go the mall with your child to set your child up for a lifetime of appropriate behavior within a budget."
Andre says back-to-school shopping is a great opportunity for parents to teach their children about responsible shopping habits, and offers these tips to help keep shopping stress-free:
• Before hitting the mall, help your child go through all the clothing currently in his or her wardrobe, and clean out the outgrown and seldom-worn clothes. Either put clothing away for a younger brother or sister or donate it to charity. Then discuss what is needed to pull the back-to-school wardrobe together.
• Once you've seen what's left, ask your child identify his favorite items. "If they do wear something a lot, find out why," says Andre. "And if they didn't wear something, find out why" so that you don't make the same mistake again.
• Talk about the styles the kids will be wearing this fall. Discuss the difference between fads, classics and trends. "It's important to recognize that clothing is an expression of their youth and peer group," says Andre, but it's also important to make appropriate choices. "Kids rely on parents to be parents, not friends. And you need to let them know that showing their belly button at school is not respectful."
• Browse through a few back-to-school catalogs with your child and talk to them about the issue of "what one wants" and "what one can afford." A calm financial conversation at home is one way to avoid an emotional blow-out at the store.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes that are easy to take off and put on for fewer hassles in the dressing room.
• Take children shopping for a few hours, not the entire day. "What I've advised parents, especially those with young girls, is to let them go to the mall - then go back and help them with the purchasing," says Andre. "Let them do the window shopping, then limit the shopping time with parents to two hours." Long, shop- till-you-drop sprees usually lead to impulse buying, arguments and exhaustion.
• Avoid buying everything before school starts. Andre advises doing some shopping for the first couple of school months, when the weather is typically warmer, then shop for warmer winter clothing. Another reason to hold off on buying all at once is that once your children see what everyone else is wearing, they might have different ideas about what they like and dislike.
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7 Tips for Buying Wisely
The lazy days of summer are counting down, and for families with kids, that means one thing: They'll soon be shelling out hundreds of dollars on back-to-school clothing, electronics, backpacks and supplies.
Back-to-school spending ranks second only to the Christmas holidays in terms of seasonal dollars, and this year, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend more than $18 billion as kids head back to the classroom. Families with school-age children are expected to spend $563.49 on back-to-school merchandise, a 6.9 percent increase over last year, predicts the NRF.
And all that shopping can come with a different kind of price tag: the stress of spending hours at the mall and the anxiety of spending too much money. So how can parents cope?
"First, take a deep breath and tap into your own common sense," advises Mary Lou Andre, president of Organization By Design, a wardrobe management and personal shopping consultant and author of Ready to Wear: an Expert's Guide to Choosing and Using Your Wardrobe.
"Then start a conversation at home before you go the mall with your child to set your child up for a lifetime of appropriate behavior within a budget."
Andre says back-to-school shopping is a great opportunity for parents to teach their children about responsible shopping habits, and offers these tips to help keep shopping stress-free:
• Before hitting the mall, help your child go through all the clothing currently in his or her wardrobe, and clean out the outgrown and seldom-worn clothes. Either put clothing away for a younger brother or sister or donate it to charity. Then discuss what is needed to pull the back-to-school wardrobe together.
• Once you've seen what's left, ask your child identify his favorite items. "If they do wear something a lot, find out why," says Andre. "And if they didn't wear something, find out why" so that you don't make the same mistake again.
• Talk about the styles the kids will be wearing this fall. Discuss the difference between fads, classics and trends. "It's important to recognize that clothing is an expression of their youth and peer group," says Andre, but it's also important to make appropriate choices. "Kids rely on parents to be parents, not friends. And you need to let them know that showing their belly button at school is not respectful."
• Browse through a few back-to-school catalogs with your child and talk to them about the issue of "what one wants" and "what one can afford." A calm financial conversation at home is one way to avoid an emotional blow-out at the store.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes and clothes that are easy to take off and put on for fewer hassles in the dressing room.
• Take children shopping for a few hours, not the entire day. "What I've advised parents, especially those with young girls, is to let them go to the mall - then go back and help them with the purchasing," says Andre. "Let them do the window shopping, then limit the shopping time with parents to two hours." Long, shop- till-you-drop sprees usually lead to impulse buying, arguments and exhaustion.
• Avoid buying everything before school starts. Andre advises doing some shopping for the first couple of school months, when the weather is typically warmer, then shop for warmer winter clothing. Another reason to hold off on buying all at once is that once your children see what everyone else is wearing, they might have different ideas about what they like and dislike.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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