The Back-To-School Must-Haves To Give Your Whole Family Confidence

Whether your kiddo’s headed off to kindergarten or middle school, they’re going to need a backpack that actually lasts through the school year. So many of the “budget-friendly” ones end up being ruined by the time Thanksgiving break comes around, and who wants to buy more than one bookbag per year? The Jansport Cool Student Backpack has a water bottle pocket, a sleeve inside the bag to hold a 15” laptop, and a reinforced leather bottom so it can stand up to anything. It also comes in tons of cute patterns and colors, and these straps sit beautifully on even the tiniest shoulders.

Preschool, fourth grade, college — it really doesn't matter what grade your kid's going into; you'll need to put their name on some stuff. Mabel's Labels won't let you down! These bad boys hold up to dishwashers, washing machines, and yes, a full day of elementary school. This bundle comes with 126 durable labels in various sizes and shapes, and you can customize them with whatever design and color you want. Trust me: They last forever.

I was always a paper calendar girly and really detested any kind of app or digital calendar — until I tried the Skylight Calendar. Not only can you input *everybody’s* plans and commitments and events (and color-code them!), but the biggest game changer has been the chore lists for our family. The ability to see what our kids need to do each day and then check it off themselves has been a huge motivator. I’m also enormously pleased with the dinner plans I can add in — no more “What’s for dinner?” at school pick-up — and the list section where my kids can add things to the grocery list themselves (and then I can just access it at the grocery store later). This is like a personal assistant.

Tubby Todd has been a beloved baby brand for a long time, but if you’ve got little kids heading into elementary school or, you know, starting to have a certain scent, consider buying the Tubby Todd Kids Bundle. Created for kids ages 6 to 12, this set includes a face wash, deodorant, toothpaste, and bar soap to help combat the skin issues commonly faced by kids of that age. Plus, they all come in really fun scents.

It took me roughly six months of having three kids in about six different activities before I got smart about uniform storage, and these Brightroom XL baskets are perfection. Now, when I dry soccer uniforms, ballet leotards, practice jerseys, swimsuits — whatever they need for their activities — instead of folding them to go upstairs where we’ll be struggling to find them five minutes before we have to leave for practice, I toss them in this basket on top of the dryer. Then everyone knows where they are, everyone can grab their own stuff, and we always know what’s clean. Even shinguards and other sports accessories go in there. Get one for each kid.

There are few things worse than a water bottle that has a million parts and gets all gross and dingy inside — except maybe a water bottle whose parts don’t even come out, so you can never really get them clean. If you want to make sure your kiddo has a water bottle that’s easy to clean, doesn’t spill, and can take a beating at soccer practice, recess, and the lunchroom, then you want the Owala FreeSip water bottle. With just one little rubber piece inside to remove to clean, and a straw that’s easy to keep from getting gross, this is the ultimate little kid water bottle. Kids can also decide whether they’d rather sip or use a straw, and it comes in tons of different fun color combinations.

I’ve bought many lunch boxes over the last decade, but nothing lasts like the Pottery Barn Kids Mackenzie lunch boxes. These things are not only gorgeous and come in a bunch of different designs and colors (which you can obviously monogram), but they are solid on the inside and incredibly easy to clean. There’s also a pocket for water bottles on the side, and the inside features a little mesh zippered section to store utensils, napkins, or even sweet notes. These will literally last you years.

Listen, sometimes you just need a fun marker or highlighter to keep you focused while you’re studying, and that’s exactly what the Yoobi SmileyWorld Double-Ended Stamp Markers are. Not only do they come in bright, fun colors with a nice fine marker tip, but the other end of these markers acts as a smiley face stamp for five different little faces. Kids can use them to decorate their notebooks, doodle while listening to lectures, or stamp around their study guides to help them remember key facts. These are also especially helpful for encouraging kids to fill out their agendas and planners.

You’re always going to need ice packs, whether it’s for a boo-boo or someone’s lunch, so you might as well have some perfectly sized ones on hand. These Cat & Jack refreezable ice packs are not only a fun shape, but they’re just the right size — and won’t break your toe if they fall out of the freezer — for anything your kid needs when heading back to school. They also keep things much colder than you think they would! I especially love having them on hand for sports injuries.

Everyone’s always looking for a super-easy snack to drop in their kid’s book bag or sports bag for after school, and the Snack Mates Chicken Pizza Mini Meat Sticks are a personal favorite. With 8 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar in each stick, these are not only nutrient-dense but also absolutely delicious. I mean, pizza-flavored chicken sticks? Come on. They’re super easy to just toss to your kid as they run out the door, or you can keep a stash in the car so that they can have one as soon as you head off to soccer practice. Buy in bulk to keep everyone happy and full.

Nobody deserves a new pair of tennis shoes like a kid heading back to school, so why not make them feel like a legit superhero with the Adidas Marvel Iron Man X_PLRPATH shoes? Not only does Adidas know how to make shoes that can live up to the elementary school playground, but these are also easy for kids to put on themselves and have such a fun design.

Every kid needs a good cardigan or sweater for those chilly classrooms, and this metallic stitched open cardigan from The Children’s Place is a great choice. It’s nice and thick, but the knit is still light enough for them to wear even in the warmer months when it’s just the A/C giving them the chills. Plus, it goes with anything and can even dress up the most casual of back-to-school outfits. Pair it with a cute dress and tights or even jeans and a tee with sneakers — it’s perfection.

Listen, hand sanitizer is a must during back-to-school season, and the PocketBac holders from Bath & Body Works not only make it convenient for your kid to fight back against germs, but they might even get a little excited to do so. These are easy to clip onto lunch boxes, book bags, or whatever you need a little extra germ-fighting help on, and they come in all kinds of designs. Snag a bunch — Bath & Body Works offers plenty of sales.

There are a million different lunch containers available out there, but there’s nothing quite like the OMIEBox insulated bento lunch box. It features lots of compartments to pop in all your kid’s snacks and lunch favorites, and the main center of the box is an insulated thermos to keep their favorite warm lunches hot until they’re ready to eat (you can also pop it out for more room). The entire box itself is insulated to keep things cold. There’s no spillage or leakage either, so it’s a major win for everyone — and they’re extremely heavy-duty, so they last forever.

Claire’s has a whole new line of the most adorable DIY things right now, and my favorite are these DIY initial stickers. They have water bottles, bags, clear pouches — all kinds of stuff for your kid to customize and personalize — and these stickers genuinely hold up well. So far, they’ve lasted through a few dishwasher rolls as they stick to my girls’ tumblers, and they really help set apart their favorite (and most personal) items from everybody else’s in the class.

Every year, I hear from fellow parents who just want a smart, easy way to track their kid — but they don’t want their kid to have a phone yet or readily available access to the internet. Enter the Bark Watch. A sigh of relief for parents, this watch is known for keeping kids safe while navigating technology. With talk and text available, as well as GPS tracking and the security you expect from Bark, the Bark Watch is a great choice for families who want their kids to have some freedom while still maintaining peace of mind. Plus, the monthly plan is only $15 a month.

Go ahead and get this adorable snack bag, fill it up with snacks that won’t go bad in your car, and congratulate yourself every time you pick a kid up from school and the first thing out of their mouth is, “I’m starving!” Once you have it stocked, just take it to sports practices and errands with you or leave it in the car so that there’s always something easy for them to grab.

Back-to-school means a lot of time running around for you, so you’re going to need a coffee thermos to keep you going. When I tell you these Contigo Byron insulated mugs will keep your coffee piping hot for hours, I mean it. I have dropped them so many times with zero spillage, and they are incredibly easy to clean. I’m obsessed with them and give them to people all the time — this is the only travel coffee mug you need.