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BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Back to school shopping is second only to holiday shopping when it comes to the average amount spent on children. In Bronxville parents are already feeling the back to school craze.
“It’s partly our own fault,” Jane Wasserman said while shopping at Papyrus on Pondfield Road in Bronxville. “I think we go overboard. We see things we wanted as kids and say, ‘Man how cool would that be if I was still in school.’ So by the time you are finished shopping for all the things you want your kid to have, then you still have to get them the things they need.”
According to a study by the National Retail Federation, parents will average $700 on back to school expenses. “When it comes to their children, there’s nothing more important to a parent than making sure their children have everything they need,” federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Backpacks rip, pencils break and children grow, there’s no way around it.”
“I’ve got a 7-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. I have to buy new clothes every few months,” said Sabrina Anatra while shopping at Fierson’s Young Fashion on Pondfield Road. “It’s either you buy them new clothes or they go to school wearing pants that end before their ankles and shirts before their wrists.”
In the 2012 Back-to-School Spending Survey, researchers found that the average person with children in kindergarten through 12th grade will spend $688 preparing for the fall.
That’s up more than $80 from last year, when tough economic times caused parents to cross many items off their shopping lists, researchers said.
“That makes sense,” Paul Colangelo of Bronxville said when asked about the statistics. “I think with our kids we’re way past that total. My wife started shopping two weeks ago and we’re still not done.”
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