The issue of your kids losing their things can be a very frustrating one not to mention an expensive one.
This question arises quite a lot from our School Mum community so set out below are some ideas to combat it:
Check Lost Property
Your first port of call would be to check with the School Office. Ask them where the lost property box(es) are kept in your School as often there is more than one location.
If you can, go with your child to look in the lost property area as:
a) there are often hundreds of items there and it can be a little overwhelming for little ones;
b) two sets of eyes are better than one; and
c) this will help your child to take ownership and responsibility for finding their lost item.
Check at lost property a few times over a 2 week period as sometimes if it has gone to the wrong household it may take a couple of days to be returned.
Flag It With Their Classroom Teacher
Also let your child’s classroom teacher know of the lost item. They can then keep an eye out for it in the classroom and also ask the other students to check whether it has been caught up in their belongings.
The Teacher may also be able to send out an email to the parents in your child’s class asking them to check their bags to see it hasn’t been caught up in their things.
Embroid Items
Where possible, embroid your child’s name to the item. This decreases the chance of someone being able to cut the tag off and claim it as theirs. Last names work well so you can pass it down to siblings. Local workwear places offer an embroidery service for about $10.
Create A Checklist For Their Bag
A lot of people create a simple checklist for their child to go through at the end of the day to ensure they have everything they need. You can laminate this and either attach it as a swing tag to the outside of the bag or affix it to the inside. Here is an example of one – you could include jumper, hat, water bottle etc. Other readers have said that their child has a laminated checklist stuck to their desk at school.
Retrace Their Steps
By going back through the days events with them it may jog their memory as to where they left the item eg. the tennis courts, the changing rooms of the pool, library etc. If your School has an After Hours Care facility, it is also worth checking in with them as many items get handed in to them as well.
