childmags.com.au Brisbane’s Child10 December 2014 · January 2015

5. Drink BottleWe like it tough, dishwasher-friendly, leak-proof, BPA-free and easy to open, with a decent fl ow. Stainless-steel water bottles avoid the plastic taste, but are heavier, so keep them small (around 350ml). Try the Thermos FUNtainer Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Straw 335ml, $24.95. Also the spill-proof Contigo Kids Autospout Striker Bottle, 415ml, $15.95. Both available online from Biome, biome.com.au

6. Keeping CoolThe bugs that cause food poisoning can multiply quickly at temperatures above 5°C, so consider an insulated cooler bag. Avoid the packs with drink-bottle attachments: they’re too bulky to get in and out of backpacks. We like the genius Fridge-To-Go Small Lunch Kids Cooler Bag, $30.95, fridge-to-go.net.au, from Howards Storage World, which keeps food cold for eight hours.

7. Pencil CaseWe love the Smiggle Satchel Pencil Case, $19.95, smiggle.com.au, with four transparent zip compartments to keep pens, pencils, rubbers, scissors and glue organised and quick to fi nd.

8. Slip-on Book CoversWin the war on adhesive contact: these durable, scratch-resistant, reusable babies slide on like a dust jacket. We like the book covers from Label Kingdom, $2.20, labelkingdom.com.au, which fi t generously all standard exercise books, A4 and scrapbooks.

9. RaincoatLook for a raincoat that fi ts and your kids will wear. We like the lightweight Kids SplashitToMe Raincoat, $29.99, from EnviroTrend, store.envirotrend.com.au. In classic, bold colours, it folds up into a teeny-tiny pouch that can live in the bottom of their backpack until rainy season.

10. Play HatThe Cancer Council recommends broad-brimmed hats should have at least a 6cm brim, and 5cm for bucket hats. Look for tightly-woven fabric and a darker lining under the brim to reduce the amount of UV radiation refl ected into the wearer’s eyes. We like the bright red Toshi Bizzi Sunhat, $34.95, toshi.com.au, and the retro Cancer Council Combi Micro Fibre Bucket Hats, $32, cancervic.org.au

11. Bag Tag/Identifi erMake it something signifi cant to your child, like a tiny ballet slipper, holiday souvenir key ring, or something personalised you can choose together, like the Stuck On You Cool Kids Bag Tag, $6.95, stuckonyou.com.au. Or have an ’80s fl ashback at the CSIRO education site, csiro.au, which shows you how to make your own super-cool, unique ‘shrinkie’ bag tag from a plastic yoghurt tub.

12. Labels We love the Stuck On You School Starter Label Value Pack, $39.95, stuckonyou.com.au, which bundles iron-on labels and stick-ons in a range of sizes, plus shoe dots and a personalised bag tag.

TIP: Carrie Felton, CEO/Founder of Stuck On You and mum of three, says children can learn to look after their possessions from an early age. “If they can’t read yet, ask them to choose an icon they can recognise, then label everything,” says Carrie. “Consider the cost of replacing their school shoes compared to the cost of a packet of labels.”

The golden rules:

• Anything you buy needs to be safe (non-toxic), durable and easy to use.

• Practice: opening and closing their new lunchbox, drinking out of the bottle, drinking from a bubbler, tying shoelaces, getting their uniform on/off.

• Kids lose things. Label everything.

Words Anna Gibson

Starting ‘big school’ in 2015? Here’s a list of things my parent friends and I wish we’d had.

1. School Bag/BackpackSupplied to more than 5,000 schools Australia-wide, the Harlequin Ergo-Tuff Pack, $69.95, schoolbags.com.au, tops the class – it’s a lightweight (800g), osteopath, physiotherapist and chiropractor-approved water-resistant backpack made from non-PVC nylon. Preschoolers need a bag big enough to carry a change of clothes, lunchbox and drink. Check out the Skip Hop Zoo Pack Giraffe, $34.95 at Little Styles, littlestyles.com.au

2. Library BagThis can be any soft bag big enough to carry a picture book. We like the Personalised Children’s Library Bags from Little Smudge, $24, littlesmudge.com, for their bright colours and simple graphics. Use them for ballet or karate on non-library days.

3. Sports/Swim BagLook for a waterproof, quick-drying fabric bag that is big enough for a cossie, goggles, thongs and towel, and small enough to fi t into your kid’s school bag. We like the aptly named Smelly Bag, $19.95, Lime Tree Kids, limetreekids.com.au – it’s stretchy, waterproof and washable.

4. LunchboxMake it BPA-free, sturdy, dishwasher-friendly and easy for little fi ngers to open, preferably with an attached lid. We like Tupperware’s Sandwich Keeper Duo, $32, tupperware.com.au – it’s guaranteed for life so it’s the only lunchbox you will pay for (provided it doesn’t get lost). A budget option is the clip-lock Sistema 450ml Sandwich Box To Go, $4.93, sistemaplastics.com, available from most supermarkets. Or bypass the box with a washable, re-useable poly-cotton Sandwich Wrap from Howards Storage World, $6.95, hsw.com.au

Start 2015 like one of those organised mums (!), go to childmags.com.au and download our back-to-school checklists.

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