There are several tips which can make your child enjoy a better locker experience when they go back to school in just a few weeks. Some of these tips may work better than others depending on your child's need, so read through the list and use what you think works for your child.
This short list of items and ideas can allow them to better organize and utilize their school locker to its fullest potential.
Remember to ask the school which type of lock works on the lockers your kid will be using. That saving time and money!SECURITY: When you have to attend a school that does not have lockers with internal locking mechanisms, or the gym lockers don’t come equipped with their own locks, odds are your child will have to supply their own combination lock or padlock. On the surface this seems like a pretty simple hurdle. However remember that there are thousands of different locks on the market and out of all these, only a fraction of them may be compatible with the locker the school has for your child. So before running over the local hardware store and spending a whole bunch of money, take a close look at the school locker that lock will be paired up with. Make sure you know the size to buy and if the rod will go through the locker’s locking mechanism.
Here is also a helpful hint when it comes to new locks. If your child does decide upon a combination lock, you will want to write that combination down in several, if not many, places as redundant information storage repository. Why? Because kids will forget and out of the blue they’ll call and expect you to have it! Face it; we were once that young and remember how difficult it was to remember a whole bunch of new numbers, let alone the numbers in sequence in a new combination at a new school, with new friends—you get the point!
And if your child doesn’t lose their cell phone all the time, try finding an innocuous area in the contact list or message folders and create an entry for say, “Aunt Beatrice”, and then store the locker combination numbers there. This will at least confuse any would-be thieves of the cell phone.
A locker shelf can increase the useable space in any gym, school or kid locker and make their back to school experience even better.LOCKER SHELF: Trust us when we state that we see all sorts of these shelves being added to a school locker—especially gym lockers, where you know you’re going to have minimal space to store a maximum amount of stuff. So next time you’re in a school supply or large box store like Target, try asking a salesperson to point you towards locker shelves. By using one of these cool accessories, you can increase useable space inside your locker. This small shelf slips inside the school locker or can be assembled inside a student’s locker allowing either a boost up for backpacks and handbags, or room for an extra pair of shoes. This simple locker shelf also makes it possible to leave your wet, muddy or snow-laced shoes at the very bottom tier of your locker and still be able to have that shelf for other items which need to stay dry and/or clean.
In the event you are a true bookworm, you can use these in your normal lockers and the space under the shelf can hold larger textbooks that you don’t use too often, yet still need to have access to during school.
Many parents forget the value a simple mesh storage bin can bring to organizing a school locker!MESH LOCKER BINS: Think of your locker like a large storage area and using bins only improves your school locker’s organization. Having one or two mesh bins will allow you to place things such things as emergency toiletries your child may suddenly need, or even extra pens, pencils, notepads and scissors or even a stapler. If you have different sizes, these can be either color-coded or even labeled to show contents. Yes, these are a very simple idea, often incurring the whole “why didn’t I think of that?” comment, but now you and your child can go armed with knowledge!
Vanity kills...or at least it makes your child late for class, so having a mirror on the door can be helpful to your child at school.MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL: Girls need mirrors like fish need water, and so what better place to attach a small mirror to than the inside of a locker? By choosing a light weight mirror and securely attaching it to the door, you have not only saved your child wasted time from having to run to the bathroom between each and every class, but you have also saved her from having to worry about not looking her best at all times.
POSTING IT: In one of those bins we had mentioned above, try putting a small supply of either Post-It sticky notes, or some cute but strong magnets so your child can keep reminders and other paper treasures hung securely in their lockers. The magnets allow the paper reminders or class schedules to be easily removed when need be.
A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND FRIENDS: There are tiny frames in just about every Wal-Mart and the best part is these cute things only cost about a dollar or so. Find a fun photo of you and your daughter, or you and your son or even a photo of your child and their best friends, frame it and give it to them to hang in their locker with some sticky strips to hang on a locker wall. Yes, it may not work for the boys, but girls will simply love you for thinking ahead.
These are the “must-haves” for any new school year. By thinking ahead and adding these mandatory, and not-so-mandatory items can only help your child focus on school, and having a great educational experience this coming school year!
