Choose the Right School Bag with Lifestyle

Do you feel overwhelmed wondering how to choose the right school bag for your child? Do you worry about the quality of the product you are buying and if it will hold up to months of pulling, dumping, bumping and fights? Or where to find the matching bottles and stationary for your child? Don’t you wish everything could be one stop away? Well it is!

I am sure you have such questions too. When my eldest started school years ago, I was full of worry and trust me, it hasn’t changed much after six years and another child in school. Every year, we wonder how to choose the right school bag for our children. Then again, I also worry about the weight that my child carries in his/her bag. Last year my German friend Annabelle compared the weight of school bags around the world and I found that my child’s was the heaviest!

Should I buy what he needs or give him what he wants? Will his bag hold all that weight and not break his back? Are trolleys really a smart idea? Won’t they need to be replaced often? The long books will not fit in the bag!! A bag with the favourite cartoon character and matching lunchbox, pouch and stationary or a sturdy bag with a built in lunch box insert? Is it even available?!

I had wished there was someone I could complain to about bags but then again… my school recommended trolley bags but I still wondered…

The other day, I was at the Lifestyle ‘Back to School’ event to see their Bags and Stationary collection. I had been invited to preview their latest editions and also to talk about the needs of school going kids and teens. I met their experts who told me about the essential requirements to choosing the right school bag for our children and what Lifestyle had to offer. I was really impressed that they could answer all my concerns regarding school bags.

‘We cannot reduce the weight of what goes into your child’s bag but we can help you choose the right school bag so that your child can carry that weight right’, said Mr.Khan, the regional manager I spoke to.

I agree. With the right choice, we can prevent back injuries and other ailments that can creep up in the future if we are not careful.

Lifestyle is a leading retail destination in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan with over 200 stores. Better known under the Centerpoint name, they house an assortment of renowned and exclusive brands offering everything for the modern woman, her home and family. Lifestyle offers customers a unique shopping experience bringing them closer to their favourite labels and celebrities too.

My eldest is in Grade 4 and both my daughters are in Preschool. Finding a school bag that will last them at least this session and not tire my child with the weight of it’s content is very important to me. I have had experience with buying all types of bags for them and had always found some or the other problem with each type. Lifestyle has a great collection as always but what I didn’t know was that they have bags for every need.

The little princess who loves cats or the car racer. The art loving teen or the easy going. Travel, daily use, school or sport… there is something that caters to every personality.

Here are a few types of bags and accessories that I saw and what I learnt about them. I hope this information will help you choose the right school bag for your children.

1. Tiger Family of bags that have a hard base to prevent the back pack from becoming sluggish and thereby putting strain on the spine. These backpacks come recommended by German doctors and Lifestyle is exclusively providing them.
2. Santoro bags have extra detailing to appeal to the young trendy middle school children.
3. They also have strolleys with strong and sturdy tires to prevent damage for active children. These bags come with a  3 year warranty and a lunch bag.
4. Icon bags with tiled and aztec patterns for the middle schoolers. They also have squarish tall bags that can fit long books. These bag are made of hard material for support as well as to hold Laptops or other technology.
5. JWorld Bags that are more for older children or teens with lots of style and compartments. These are good to be used as travel bags too.
6. SakRoots with pretty floral patterns for stylish teens, college -goers or travel purpose. 
7. Outsider for the young grade schoolers are fun backpacks that come with a cute toy or keychain for your child. They also have a pouch out front to hold the lunch or pencil case. I liked that these came well padded for durability.
8. Bomi Strolley cum backpack was by far my favourite. This bag transforms from a strolley bag to a backup quite easily. You can remove the trolley attachment and it has an extra elastic undercover that can protect the bag even more. This bag comes with a lunch bag that clips on to the backpack. How smart is that?! Also I loved how they had displayed with all the matching stationary and accessories to it.
9. Fashionista for the pretty fashion and dolls loving girl. I loved that it wasn’t too pink and still have all the glitter and glam that girls that age prefer. This bag comes with proper padding at the back to help your child’s spine.
10. Another one for the Stylish fashion lover is the Minmie Collection. It is based on one of the popular characters from the South East Asia that more girls are preferring.
11. I also loved that they have the entire collection of each popular cartoon character and that too in good quality stuff.
12. Almost all the bags were displayed with their matching accessories like lunch bags or boxes, pouches and stationary that makes it easy for us to find everything we need at the same place.
13. Water bottles: I was happy to see that they have good quality stainless steel bottles as well as some good sippie types. If you have  sensory seeker child who chews on everything or loves to suck, the Camelbak Eddy collection is really good.
14. They have stocked some very thoughtful gift items for your Back to School child or the teachers too. Colouring books for kids and adults, stationary, mobile phone and tablet accessories, etc. 
15. I also found some fun items that can be used for traveling as well as gifts. This fantastic bat-mobile as well as this really cute yellow car. Can you believe that those pictures above  are actually strolley bags?!

These are just some of the products that are exclusively found at Lifestyle stores. You can find other types of bags as well as stationary there. I personally prefer them as a one stop place to find all my Back to school needs. You can also find uniforms, shoes and sweaters at Splash or ShoeMart.

I hope this post helps you choose the right school bag for your child. I was quite impressed by the knowledge of their staff so if you are unable to decide, do ask them for help; they may be able to help you make a better choice. Happy Back to School season!

 

Please Note: I was invited by Lifestyle for the launch of the Back to School collection. This is a sponsored post. You can read more about Sponsored content in my disclosure policy.