Can you believe it’s been just over seven years now since I became a Grannah? (That’s me trying to be cool about being a granny. Grannah Montana? Well, yes.)
I know, I know, I don’t look old enough, you’re too kind.
Being a Grannah really is the best of both worlds. You don’t have to do all of the tedious parenting, or deal with the endless uneaten packed lunches, but you still get to be involved. One of my favourite bits is picking Joey from school when he’s not expecting me and seeing his face light up and him rush over to give me a hug. We walk across the playground, holding hands, while he tells me about the bets bits of his day, and I get to imagine that everyone imagines I’m still young enough to be a parent of a seven-year-old.
As well as helping out with school runs, grandparents can also make themselves useful when it comes to uniform. I remember all to clearly leaving uniform shopping to the last minute every August. Heading to the shoe shop, taking your ticket like you’re at a deli counter, and waiting for what felt like weeks for feet measuring. I don’t miss any of that.
Joey’s new shoes didn’t involve any of that, plus they re machine washable, which is ideal for kids.
We weren’t blessed with online shopping when my kids were small either.
Shopping for school uniform meant traipsing round the uniform shops, trying to find the shirts that looked most likely to stand up to a distinct lack of ironing. I’ve never been the kind of parent who irons. I often tell the story of the time when my youngest daughter Belle was about three years old and I got the iron out of the cupboard. She covered her ears with her hands and looked scared. She’d never seen an iron before.
Now it’s much simpler, you can sit comfortably at home, browse the Very website for everything from school shoes to PE socks, pop it all in your basket and job’s done. Easy peasy.
My daughter Bee was really impressed with the quality of the Very uniform. She said it felt very soft, and she loved some of the little touches, like reduced packaging on the shirts and velcro instead of a top button.
We can all remember how fiddly and mildly claustrophobic those top buttons are, so this is such a simple change that makes a huge difference.
Okay, so you’ve got the uniform and shoes sorted. Well done. We all know though that accessories are what it’s all about when you’re going back to school. The bags! The pencil cases! The novelty rubbers!
(Note to self: Do kids nowadays even have pencil cases and rubbers or do they do everything in a virtual cloud?)
Joey, like one or two other seven-year-olds, is into Minecraft. Or, as he told me on one of those walks across the playground, he is ‘literally obsessed‘ with Minecraft. There was only one choice really then from the Very kids backpack range.
You’d think that this backpack would definitely have been Joey’s favourite bit, but nope. His best bit? The socks.
What can I say? Sometimes it’s the smallest things.
Now that Bee and Joey are ready for back to school, (how smug would you feel to be ready when the summer holidays are just beginning?), I thought I’d finish up by sharing some of my pearls of wisdom before you head off to Very.co.uk.
Happy shopping!
Five top tips from someone who’s been there and got the (crinkly) t-shirt
- Do everything online and in one go if you can. A one-stop shop like Very is perfect for making this job simple and affordable.
- If you’re on a budget, ask your school if they sell second-hand branded items. These are the bits that break the bank.
- Look for non-iron uniform wherever you can.
- Add labels to everything. First name and surname. Yes it’s boring, but you’ll thank yourself when your child loses their school branded jumper for the fourth time and it’s returned to you quickly and easily.
- Get Grannah to do it.