Latest / Whys & Finds / What Toddlers Actually Carry in Their Backpack
Transcript
- Ben: You unzip your toddler's backpack after a day out. Three rocks, a leaf, half a cracker and a toy dinosaur. No water bottle. Is that normal? Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie. Ben: And I'm Ben. Ellie: Today: what do toddlers actually carry in their backpack? Ellie: Let's keep it simple: a snack, a cup or a bottle, and one or two small things they picked themselves. That's most of it. The bag is for their things, not for the whole day's supplies. Ben: Rocks included? Ellie: Rocks very much included. And the main idea comes from a public source. Mississippi State University Extension, the university's outreach service for families, has an article with backpack tips. One thing to know: the tips are written for school-age kids with heavy bags. But one line works for a toddler too: "Load the backpack each night with only the items needed for the next day." Ben: Only what's needed. For a two-year-old. Ellie: Which is not much. A snack. A cup. A treasure. Ben: So a toddler's backpack is mostly snacks and stuff. Ellie: Mostly, yes. And that's fine. Ben: How do you know what they really carry, though? Every gift list shows a backpack with a neat lunch box and a folder. Ellie: We read our reviews. More than 3,000 of them, for our backpacks. And the same things come up again and again. Dozens of reviews mention snacks. Ben: Give me a real one. Ellie: One buyer wrote: "He puts all of his snacks and toys when we go places in it!" Ben: Snacks and toys. Okay. Ellie: One buyer gave it to a nephew and wrote: "he loves carrying his cars and dinos in it!" Ben: Cars and dinos. Not a folder in sight. Ellie: Not one. And a grandparent wrote about a granddaughter who "continues to bring it with her everywhere filled with her little treasures." Ben: Little treasures. That's the rocks. Ellie: That's the rocks. And the leaves, and the one sticker they won't let go of. Ben: So what do I take from that as a parent? Ellie: That the bag works when the things inside are theirs. A snack they can reach. Something from their room. Something from the park. Notice what those quotes are about. Snacks, toys, treasures. Not wipes, not spare socks. Ben: Because the wipes are in my bag. Ellie: Exactly. Your bag holds the day's supplies. Their bag holds their things. That's an easy split to explain. Ben: And if I pack their bag with my stuff? Ellie: Then it's your bag on their back. I'd keep the two apart. Ben: Here's my question, though. If they carry so little, why not get a big backpack? They'd grow into it. Ellie: Because they're the one carrying it. The same Mississippi State article starts with size: "Choose the correct size. Select one no wider or longer than the child's torso." Ben: Again, written for school kids. Ellie: Written for school kids, so it's not a rule for a toddler. But it's an easy way to look at size. Measure across your toddler's back, then check the bag's size in inches. If the bag is wider than they are, that's a lot of bag for them. Ben: And then I carry it. Ellie: Quite possibly. So for a toddler, a small bag. One practical option: Naturally KIDS makes a small backpack, 10 by 8 by 3 inches, the right size for a child's little shoulders. Room for a snack and a treasure. Padded, adjustable straps and an easy zipper small hands open on their own. Ben: And it's the one with the animal on the front. Ellie: Right. There's a removable plush animal on the front. At the park, it can come out for a pretend picnic with the snack, or for a story on the bench. Then it goes back on the bag. Ben: Okay. So with the Naturally KIDS one, the buddy comes along, and the snack goes inside. Ellie: That's how it works. Ben: Back to the packing. You said only what's needed for the next day. Who decides what's needed? Ellie: You both do. They pack it themselves, at the table, the night before. You put out the snack and the cup. They put them in. Then they pick two things of their own. Two, not ten. You set the number, they pick the things. Ben: Why the table? Ellie: It's another tip from the same article: "Pack and unpack the backpack on a table." Everything is in one place, and you can see what goes in. Ben: Okay, here's where I push back. The night before sounds nice. But a two-year-old changes their mind by morning. Last night it was the rock. At the door, it's the dinosaur. Now I'm unpacking the bag in the hallway. Why not let them grab something in the morning and go? Ellie: That's a fair worry, and yes, it'll happen. But look at what's already done. The snack and the cup are in. The bag is by the door. In the morning there's one small choice left: keep the rock or swap it for the dinosaur. Ben: So it's a swap, not a search through the house. Ellie: Right. The night before is for the things that have to be there. The treasures can change. The snack can't go missing. Ben: And the two-thing limit? Ellie: It still holds. One out, one in. Ben: Okay. Pack it the night before, one swap at the door. I can live with that. Ellie: Good. Then nobody's looking for the snack at the door. Ben: Fine. You keep that one. Ellie: Now, a few different situations. If daycare wants a water bottle in their bag, pick the small backpack with pockets. The bottle goes in a side pocket, and there's a label inside for their name. Ben: What if they already have a bag they love? Ellie: Then use that one. Packing it themselves the night before works with any bag. Ben: And if they're not into the animal on it? Ellie: The small backpack also comes with a unicorn, a triceratops, a dog or a teddy bear. Let them choose. Ben: So the night-before habit works with any bag. Ellie: It does. The bag just has to be their size. Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: toddlers carry a snack, a cup and a few small things of their own. In the reviews we read, snacks, toys and little treasures come up again and again. Two: Mississippi State University Extension says, in tips written for school-age kids, to load the backpack each night with only the items needed for the next day. Three: the same article says to choose the correct size, no wider or longer than the child's torso. So for a toddler, a small bag. Four: they pack it themselves, at the table, the night before. You put out the snack, they pick two things. If they change their mind in the morning, one swap at the door. And five: if daycare wants a water bottle in their bag, pick one with side pockets. Ellie: You've got it. Ellie: That's it for today. A reminder: the voices in this episode are AI-generated. Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS. Ellie: That's today's why. See you at the next find.