San Diego Moms: What to Add to Your Back

San Diego families are gearing up for the new school year (where did the summer go?!). Aside from the usual pencils and notebooks, here is a list of items that I recommend to make your life easier as you head back to school.

Keeping Water, Food Fresh: How many lunch boxes and water bottles have your kids gone through? The answer is: Enough. Invest in durable products that will last beyond the school year. My pick for lunch bags is Funkins, which comes in a variety of prints. These high-quality lunch bags are insulted so keep food at the right temperature, sturdy so the last for as long as possible and (drum roll, please) machine-washable! On top of that, the bags are non-toxic, lead, phthalate and PVC-free. Keep your kids’ water fresh and cold with an Iron Flask water bottle. Iron Flask offers a variety of water bottles for kids, all of which have double-wall vacuum insulation and premium stainless steel to keep water cold for 24 hours.

Healthy Eating: Simplify snacks and meals while keeping your kids healthy with Veggies Made Great products. These kid-approved meals are easy to warm up, packed with veggies, and most importantly, taste delicious. The brand offers muffins, frittatas, bites and more. Be sure to also stock up your pantry with treats such as Mightylicious cookies, which is allergen-friendly. These soft-baked cookies are free of gluten, wheat, rye, barley, and RBST. The entire line is made from all-natural, non-GMO ingredients. Tidbits Fun Bites are another great treat. They are bite-sized treats that are sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, cholesterol free and contain no high fructose corn syrup.

Learning Made Fun: Does your child have difficulty staying engaged while learning or sitting in a classroom? Try a variety of tools that will make your child eager to learn. Scentco offers a variety of scented pencils, pens and markers. If your child has moved on from the fidget poppers but still needs something in their hands while learning, try Glo Pals. With bendable arms, these adorable fidgets come in different characters and glow for water fun too.

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Staying Comfortable: Send your kid to school in style and comfort with Kyte Baby. Kyte Baby offers clothes up to size 7 in bamboo-soft, smooth fabric that is three degrees cooler than cotton. What about staying comfortable in front of those school Chromebooks? Try Babiators Screen Savers, which are blue light-blocking glasses to protect little eyes from overexposure to digital screens.

For All the School Work: It’s amazing how much you will need to print, scan and copy when your kids are back in school. This is why you should invest in a durable, long-term printer that can handle the demands. The Epson EcoTank ET-2850 cartridge-free Supertank printer can handle printing thousands of colorful pages in a breeze without the worry of running out of ink with its high-capacity, easily refillable ink tanks. From decorating with vibrant, educational posters to homework assignments, the EcoTank ET-2850 handles it all with impressive quality and excellent savings on replacement ink.

For the Tweens and Teens: For the tweens and teens who love style with a cause, grab them a backpack from Rice Love and Taaluma Totes. These brands give back to their communities with each backpack purchase. Need help getting your kid organized? Bright Day offers a variety of academic planners so your kid (or you) will never forget an assignment or important school event.

For the Little Ones: For the little ones heading to school for the first time or preparing for their academic careers, try a number of educational toys that will allow them to learn while having fun. Learning Resources, hand2mind and Educational Insights all offer a number of engaging toys that will allow the kids to play and grow. Our personal favorite is hand2mind’s collection of NumberBlock toys. Who knew math could be so fun?!

For the Parents: Finally, for the parents who are rushing to get the family out the door — treat yourself to an affordable cold brew coffee maker. Vinci Housewares Express Cold Brew Coffee Maker lets you enjoy homemade cold brew coffee anytime you want it. The Vinci Express Cold Brew eliminates the long 18-24 hour wait of the traditional cold brewing coffee methods and brews fully extracted, full-flavored cold brew coffee in as little as five minutes.

What else should we add to the Back-to-School shopping list to make our lives easier? Tell us in the comments.

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San Diego Moms is published on Saturdays. Have a story idea? Email [email protected] and follow her on Instagram at @hoawritessd.

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