How to safely label your child’s backpack

We bought Claire a beautiful red water bottle the other day in a random shop far out in the ‘burbs. She loved it until we brought it to daycare and I saw at least 2 others just like hers. As with water bottles, unless you make your own backpack, chances are that some other kid will be carrying the same one as your munchkin. We can personalize it so it’s unique but an easier way would be to label the backpack as your child’s. You can write your child’s name on their backpack but it needs to be on the inside. If you are labelling on the outside of the backpack, never write their name as predators will use it to gain your child’s trust. Write their initials, or draw a special symbol instead. Let’s walk through some helpful tips for labeling your child’s backpack:

How to label your child’s backpack

Use a water-proof permanent marker

This is the cheapest, quickest and easiest way of labelling your toddler’s backpack. You can use a plain old black marker like we did, or go crazy on the colors. When you use a fabric marker that is made for washing and dry cleaning, it won’t bleed if the backpack gets wet.

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Sharpie Laundry Markers are the best markers for labelling not just backpacks, but clothes and lunch boxes as well. The only problem? Whatever you write is there forever more to stay. You will find it difficult to pass the backpack down to your younger child or even to donate it. And you better not make a spelling mistake.

Sew on scrap fabric

Instead of marking up the backpack with a permanent marker, take a small piece of scrap fabric and cut out a rectangular strip. You can write on the fabric scrap with your permanent marker instead of directly on the backpack. Then you can either stitch the fabric directly onto the backpack or loop it on the handle and stitch it closed on one end. A less secure option that doesn’t involve needles is to use a safety pin.

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Can you believe it? You can buy scrap fabric on Amazon! Crafts hour, here we come.

Luggage tag

An upgrade from the bohemian scrap-fabric label is to buy a cute kid’s luggage tag. You can attach this to the bag handle or zipper. They are cheap and you don’t have to worry about needle pricks.

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Masking tape

Using colorful tape is a fun way to label backpacks. You can create shapes like hearts or squares and label them with a Sharpie.

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This colorful set comes in the colors of the rainbow and is less than $10! The best part? You can change it up when your child gets bored with the label. Just pull the masking tape off and decorate again.

Fabric paint

If you have a steady hand, use fabric paint to permanently label your child’s backpack. Paint their initials, draw a symbol or paint a picture. The sky is the limit with what you can do.

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This 3D paint set come in easy-squeeze bottles to make writing and doodling easier.

Use a label maker

Satisfy your inner obsessive-compulsive. Grab a label maker to churn out some labels for your kid’s backpack. And while you’re at it, why not make labels for the rest of their things and everything in the pantry? These paper labels are cheap to make and also easy to pull off. The only problem is when the backpack gets wet. Then it can get a bit messy and you’ll end up having to scrape it off.

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This handy label maker is by the famous printer brand, Brother. Compared to many other ‘professional’ label makers, this one is cheap. Totally worth it if you like labelling everything you own.

Iron-on labels

There are plenty of options when it comes to iron-on labels. You can custom-make one with your preferred wording on it. Or choose a cute picture that your child can identify with. They are easy to iron on and stays on through rain and shine.

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Label and Store allows you to customize the labels before buying. This way, you don’t have to worry about spelling mistakes.

Fabric stamp

Who would have thought you could easily stamp your kid’s name on their backpack and clothes in just a few minutes? You could even get a stamp with just the icon.

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Personalized backpack

Personalization used to be so expensive but you can now customize anything and everything, including your toddler’s backpack. Instead of scratching your head thinking of how to label your child’s backpack, why not buy it pre-labelled. It cannot get cuter than this 100% cotton pink unicorn backpack. It’s the perfect size for your toddler and comes with an easy magnetic snap. Just make sure you don’t customize with your child’s name. Read on to find out why.

Safety tips for labeling children’s backpacks

Before you get too excited and write your child’s name in bold letters on the front of their backpack like we did, follow these safety tips:

Never write your child’s name on their backpack

Never write your child’s name in a prominent area on their backpack. This means no names anywhere that is easily visible to others when your child is carrying their backpack. One of the tricks that predators use to gain trust of children so they can prey on them is to call their name. It’s is hard for kids to separate strangers from acquaintances. If an adult comes up to them and says their name, your child may think the person must be someone they know. It can make them think it’s OK to talk to this adult. Make sure your child and their teacher can easily identify the backpack without compromising on your child’s safety. This could mean labelling without their name or writing their name somewhere less obvious on the backpack.

Labeling without using a name

Get creative with your labels. Your child’s name is not the only way to identify their belongings.

• Write their initials instead of their name. Most preschoolers understand what their initials are.
• Use a special symbol that your child can remember is theirs e.g a 6-point star or two dots inside a circle with cat ears on top.
• Label your child’s backpack with a unique picture that means something to your child.
• Use these 5-minute personalization hacks.

*Writing your child’s pet name or nickname is an even bigger no-no than their real name. If a stranger calls them by their special name that only mummy uses, your child will be tricked into thinking you sent them.

Where can I label my child’s backpack?

The best places to label your child’s backpack is just on the inside of the main compartment. That way, it’s not obvious to a passer-by but if the teacher needs to identify your child’s backpack, all they have to do is unzip it to see their name. Other less conspicuous places are inside one of the backpack pockets or on the inner sides of the straps. We wrote Claire’s initials on the inside of her backpack so no one can see when she is carrying it. If you’re labelling your child’s backpack with something other than their name, for example a picture or symbol, it doesn’t matter that it’s readily visible since no one else can make any conclusions from it.

What is the purpose of labeling your child’s backpack?

By now you might be thinking, man… is this even worth doing? Why don’t I just not label and save all the trouble? If your child hasn’t started daycare, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that way. The moment they start going to daycare, you’ll understand the importance of labelling. To begin with, you’ll be getting memos and emails about how everything that your child brings in needs to be labelled. Then you’ll realize that kids like to claim ownership of everything and anything. The only way that teachers can resolve the dispute fairly is by actually knowing who the object belongs to. Daycare is a chaotic place with all those yelling kids. Despite labelling my toddlers’ backpacks and belongings, they still come home with things belonging to other kids in their bags. Imagine if there were no labels.

To wrap up

While it’s important to clearly label your child’s backpack when they are in daycare, you need to make sure that you do so with your child’s safety in mind.