Parents feeling the back-to-school pinch
Published:Tuesday | August 20, 2024 | 12:08 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Some parents are feeling the squeeze this back-to-school season, grappling with the steep costs of raising school-aged children in today’s tough economy.
Speaking with The Gleaner last Thursday on the sidelines of a back-to-school fair hosted by the Spring Village Development Foundation and the Jamaica Broilers Group through its Best Dressed Chicken brand, Donnette Brown shared her frustration over the daunting book lists for her children.
She added that she was still sorting out her finances and hadn’t started shopping for school supplies yet.
The mother of three children – ages four, eight, and 12 – stated that she received a quote for each child’s book list to get a sense of what she would need to spend. The combined total had exceeded $60,000.
On her eldest’s book list, the literature books alone, she said, cost approximately $10,000.
As a parent, back-to-school season is one of the hardest things to conquer every year, Brown reasoned.
“Not even Christmas nuh stay so,” she said.
However, she acknowledged that this year, she must find ways to cut costs, like borrowing books from friends whose children have completed the grades her children are entering and limiting the number of new uniforms.
“I made three uniforms last year, [so] I’m not making no uniforms because is taxi bring her to school and back and them did tall,” she said of one of her children.
Another, she continued, is enrolling in a new school, and a set of uniforms costs $4,000.
Several other parents noted that the current economic climate is putting a strain on the average low- to middle-income parent.
EASIER WITH HIGH SCHOOL
According to Latoya Mitchell, preparing for back-to-school can be a lengthy, expensive, and intensely stressful challenge for parents.
She said that for children matriculating into high school, the expenses are different – possibly cheaper – due to the book rental schemes.
“It’s not as hectic as it was before because coming from the PEP (Primary Exit Profile), this is like a little breeze off,” she said, noting that her son got most of his books through the rental system and only needed to purchase four textbooks.
Mitchell advised parents to begin their back-to-school shopping earlier in the year to reduce the mental strain that comes with last-minute purchasing. She claims that because she began in January, it has greatly benefited her and she is not as worried about how she will be able to send her children to school.
“That is what I did, so I’m not saying that it wasn’t a lot, but that it (stress) never come down on me all at once,” she added.