Back-to-school shopping is a tax on families, but it doesn’t have to be

If you’re a parent with a school-age child, you know September is an expensive time of year. Hell, if you’ve ever MET a family, you should know that.

If you’re the parent or guardian of a school-age child, you’ll probably receive an email from the kid’s school, explaining how they need both indoor and outdoor shoes. This makes sense, as who wants dirty shoes inside a clean classroom? However, you will now have to go shoe shopping (times two). If your child is in after-care because your job does not end at 3:30 pm (most jobs do not), you will also be asked to provide a separate pair of indoor shoes for that program. Congratulations! Your child needs three whole pairs of shoes!

Of course, you’ll also need to send extra clothes to be kept in a ziplock bag, in case your child jumps into a muddy puddle (Note: You cannot get away with not doing this, because your child will ALWAYS jump in a mud puddle at some point in the school year). Pencil cases, lunchboxes, backpacks, and water bottles must also be procured. And, when your child loses their first five Bluey water bottles, you will be on the hook to get a sixth…

In addition to the items you must procure for your child each September, the school will probably recommend your family donate a certain amount of money to compensate for how poorly our governments fund education (my daughter’s school recommends each family donate at least $100). These requests are understandable, and the funds are sorely needed, but it’s another thing I must pay for so that Doug Ford’s cronies can waste money on hotels…

Back-to-school is financially draining for parents. It’s unsurprising that Abacus reports parents expect to spend around $331 on back-to-school shopping this year. That amount is tantamount to a tax on families for having the audacity to raise future taxpayers.

Is it possible to complete the back-to-school for less? Of course! There are thrift stores that sometimes have your child’s actual shoe size in stock. If you get very lucky, you might even find a trove of well-preserved hand-me-downs in your community! But sourcing free – or affordable – gear for our kids can feel like a part-time job. Have you ever arranged to pick up a well-priced pre-loved winter jacket from Facebook Marketplace? If not, please refrain from underestimating the time and emotional toll that process can take.

As a professional mom from a two-income household, I recognize the burden of back-to-school shopping is much heavier for parents with fewer financial resources than it is for me. As annoying as spending hundreds of dollars on pencils and backpacks can be, I recognize I’m lucky that my family is privileged enough to fit such expenses into our budget. But why should adequately preparing our kids for back-to-school be a privilege? In a society that values education as much as Canada claims to do, adequate preparation for September should just be a right.

So, what is the solution to the costs and inequalities of back-to-school? Admittedly, it’s hard to solve the problem of raising kids in an expensive, consumerist society. A truly well-funded education system could, however, be part of the answer.

Imagine a world where many of the things our kids require to learn properly are just…given to them at school? Imagine a world where your child’s pencil cases – even the pencils themselves – were just handed to them on the first day of class! Imagine a world where schools did not need to beg families for the money to purchase mousetraps or buy books for the school library, because the government adequately funded those things? Hell, it’s even possible to imagine free backpacks and water bottles! I am confident the phenomenal educators I know would love to make this world a reality – if schools only had the money.

Consider how miraculous it would feel if schools did not have to ask financially stretched parents to open their wallets, but could instead actually rely on provincial governments to allocate the funds educators need to create the best possible learning environments?

The equitable back-to-school experience I imagine isn’t particularly outlandish. It simply requires provincial governments to wake up and give our wonderful schools the tools they need to take care of each student properly.

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