AS thousands of children prepare to return to school, or start for the first time, many parents are finding it difficult to cope with the financial burden placed on them.
The Government’s Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance assists those below a certain income threshold; that is €563.60 per month for a couple with one child, and €410.10 for single parent families with one child, increasing by €29.80 for each additional child.
However, many families earning just above the limit are finding the cost of simply sending their children to school to be financially crippling.
One Limerick mother, whose daughter is a pupil at a county Limerick school, has already spent in excess of €350 on the required school uniform…and that’s only for starters.
“We were told by the school that we can only purchase all parts of the uniform at a specific shop in Limerick,” she told the Limerick Post.
“There are plenty of other places where we could have bought the skirts, shirts and jumpers cheaper, but they all have to be the exact same and have the school crests on them.
“With a child entering secondary school for the first time they have enough challenges facing them trying to fit in, without standing out in the wrong uniform, so parents are under pressure to get all the right gear.
“As well as the uniform, they are required to have a tracksuit with the crest on the jumper and bottoms. I could imagine the pressure on parents sending two of their children to school”.
The tracksuit top and bottoms come in at €50 apiece, while the crested blazer costs €70 and the skirt another €70.
There is also a jacket, pullover, shirts, socks and shoes to purchase, and that’s before any school books are bought.
Then there are the costs involved in booking a pupil on the school bus-if necessary- for a term.
However, one parent of a primary school student is of the opinion that uniforms are a blessing.
“I would go mad if I didn’t have a uniform for her and had to pick out what she was going to wear every morning.
“There would also be a lot of competition to have the best brands among the children, as there always is.
“I really like the crested jackets and uniforms.
“They look really smart”.
The mother of a senior infants pupil at a city school, has forked out €245 to send her daughter to school, but has no qualms in doing so.
“I don’t mind; I want her to have the best of everything, and I always put her children’s allowance away for that purpose, so I’m not panicking when it comes to back to school time.
“But I buy two pinafores, two cardigans and two shirts, because as a working mom, I wouldn’t have time to wash and iron them every day.
“I only have the one child, so I can understand the pressure on parents of two, three or four children”.
