Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I'm thinking of getting DS a backpack for kindergarten that has the option of being personalized and am not sure whether I want to put his name on it or not. Did you personalize your DC's backpack or not bother?

I know it can be a safety issue. Right now, I'm leaning towards initials, but others are telling me to just put his first name on it since teachers want everything labeled.

Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Don't do it. IMO, it's not necessary. You can label the inside.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Do either initials or nothing.

Edit: Teachers don't really care if backpacks are labeled, to be honest! I mean, parents almost always label the inside in case a kid leaves it on the bus or something, but it's not the same as a school supply.

Message edited 7/26/2013 5:38:00 PM.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I only put one initial on it. I did not even put his three initials on it. We have mables labels dog tags with my cell phone number attached to the backpack for identification purposes. He also has a wallet that I wrote his name, address, my cell phone number and and his teachers name. Those items are kept inside of the backpack.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I'm a teacher and backpacks with first names on them scare me. Anyone can walk up your child and say "hey- billy ur mom told me to come get you."

They're adorable, but a safety risk IMO.

Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Thank you ladies because I just ordered my DD a backpack and lunchbox personalized from Pottery Barn today and I just called to cancel order since you have 24 hours to do so. I will re-do the order with either her initial or nothing at all!

Ps. A lot of the nice patterns are backordered already

Message edited 7/26/2013 8:42:22 PM.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

My kids have had backpacks with their names on them. They are never, ever without a trusted adult, so I was never concerned.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I do not like the idea of personalized backpacks or the attached lunch boxes.....speaking as a teacher and a mom. I agree with an above poster. It gives a?stranger a perfect chance to go up to a child and say "hi NAME.....your mom told me to pick you up. I will not personalize anything fir my children.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Thanks for the feedback ladies. I'm going to order it plain without any type of personalization. Now I'm debating what size LL Bean backpack to get

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Both my kids, age 8 and 6, have Junior size backpacks from LL Bean with their first initials only. That way they know it's definitely their backpack in case someone else has the same one, and yet they are not walking around announcing their names to complete stranger.

Message edited 7/27/2013 11:59:04 AM.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I have no opinion really, I don't personalize them, because it's an extra expense to do so. I just put a label inside. As far as the "stranger snatching" thing. It's highly unlikely that your child will be unsupervised at school, and a stranger will snatch him/her based on the information on the backpack. In fact, I've never heard of an incident of this happening to be honest. I like to think that most children who have been taught stranger danger wouldn't go with a strange adult regardless if they know their name or not.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

I ordered one for DD last year but initials only.

Re: Personalized backpack: yay or nay?

Good choice not to. I don't think its safe.