How much does it cost to get a child to school today

Irina Mishina

Before starting to collect the child for school, everyone mentally compares these expenses with their salary. According to Rosstat, the average salary in Russia today is 66,757 rubles.

A school uniform for the price of a quarter of your salary?

“Russians’ spending on “school kit” in 2022 increased by 20% compared to last year. And some school supplies have risen in price by 100%. So, in July 2022, compared to the previous month, the cost of diaries increased by 184%, and school notebooks by 141%,” these figures were announced at a press conference at the Public News Service. At the same time, last year the Russians could count on the payment of 10 thousand rubles for children from 6 to 18 years old to prepare for school, but this year the allowance is not provided.

True, the Children's Goods Industry Association cites some other figures. As Antonina Tsitsulina , president of this Association, said in an interview with Sputnik radio, "the increase in the cost of preparing a child for school amounted to 12-15 percent compared to last year". According to Mrs. Tsitsulina, the fees of the child to school this year will cost parents at least 10-12 thousand rubles. The amount of expenses for a backpack and writing materials will be at least one and a half thousand rubles, - Ms. Tsitsulina is sure.

I don’t know which stores the experts have in mind, but when collecting my child for school with his absolutely not “cosmic” requests, I personally encountered other numbers.

… The most expensive school fee was in our family in the first grade. Then the administration of a Moscow gymnasium obliged the girls' parents to buy full school uniforms in a branded exclusive clothing store. This gymnasium had a dress code that had to be strictly followed. I think the administration of this educational institution received a good percentage from the store, which stocked dozens of students. As a result, the fees of one child to school, I remember, stepped over 20 thousand rubles.

Now many schools are beginning to abandon the mandatory dress code "dark bottoms-white tops", but in elementary school they are trying to stick to it. In the "Children's World" you will find trousers for boys and sarafans with skirts for girls within one and a half thousand rubles. But even if you and your child agree to these undemanding clothes, you will have to multiply it by 2 or 3, and preferably by 4 or 5, because children's clothes often get dirty and have to be changed. Here you have at least 5 thousand rubles.

Add shoes to this, at least 2 pairs. Even if you take shoes resembling galoshes from Detsky Mir for 1400 rubles, this is almost 3 thousand more. Total already 8 thousand. If you have two or more children, multiply by their number. But that's not all...

In shopping centers it is very noticeable that not everyone chooses "budget" clothes from "Children's World". The main part of the parents crowds in other stores, where everything is prettier and, accordingly, more expensive. As we found out, a decent school dress for a girl now costs more than 5 thousand rubles, and a suit for a boy even more.

And all this must also be multiplied by at least 3, given that children do not always take care of clothes, even such expensive ones. Do not forget about physical education. If you think that this is an exclusively white T-shirt-black shorts, then this is not so. A modern school will need a sports suit, which will cost at least 2-3 thousand rubles, plus sneakers, the price of which is also not less than a thousand. So, according to the most minimal estimates, only the clothes of a schoolboy will cost parents no less than 15 thousand rubles.

Stationery is not a trifle

Don't forget about textbooks. Formally, they are free in public schools, but you always have to buy something like workbooks for foreign language textbooks, contour maps and atlases yourself. There are other additional costs as well. Author programs are in vogue now. I remember that the acquisition of benefits for one of them (it was the Russian language) once cost us 4,000 rubles. True, later this program was recognized as ineffective, it was abandoned, but by that time, I think, its developer had already managed to make a good fortune. I remember that we ourselves acquired a lot of such “author's” textbooks in the “head office”.

In high school, “stationery” came to the fore. Helium erasable pens with erasers, notebooks for each subject with a margin, pencils, rulers and protractors - all this has become a tangible expense item. No, of course, there are simple green notebooks of 12 sheets for 20 rubles from Detsky Mir. But the problem is that they have not been used for a long time. All children have long been writing in colorful, patterned notebooks, which are many times more expensive. And of course 12 sheets are the past. In secondary school, notebooks have 18, 48 or 96 sheets, each of which costs about 200 rubles. And there are also "smart" notebooks with tips - rules and formulas, for which the price is even higher.

And do not forget about the pencil case, folders, protractors, felt-tip pens, colored and pencils. By the way, if you think that these are pennies, then you are mistaken. A pencil now costs about 100 rubles. In general, in my case, a set of the most necessary “stationery” for a 7th grade student cost 4,169 rubles.

A backpack or knapsack is also a significant item of expenditure. In "Children's World" you can, of course, buy a school backpack for one and a half thousand rubles, but your child is unlikely to want to wear it. In fact, backpacks for textbooks are a very important thing, and in order for all school “wealth” to be safe, this backpack must be reliable and not heavy, because otherwise the child risks earning posture problems. In addition, cheap backpacks (cheap ones are for fifteen hundred, sorry) are replete with some ominous drawings with horned horses, blue hippos and other monsters, or even completely painted in mourning colors.

Having walked around the shopping centers, we found out: the price of a roomy and not heavy school backpack with a non-intimidating design starts from 2,500 rubles, but the most comfortable ones cost about 3,500.

Well, let's sum up. If you "gather" a child" in the "Children's World", by the most budgetary standards, it will cost no less than 15-17 thousand rubles. If you want more comfortable and beautiful clothes and shoes, as well as a comfortable backpack, as well as a real set of modern "stationery", prepare at least 20-25 thousand rubles. Accordingly, multiplying by the number of children...

How can you save money

Why did the “school kit” jump up in price so much this year? Experts name the changed logistics and inflation among the reasons. We asked if this was due to the withdrawal of foreign brands from the Russian market. “Sanctions and the withdrawal of foreign companies from the Russian market had practically no effect on the usefulness of the “school set”, we have everything. As for the “school set”, no one brought any special things for him from Europe or the USA. The main products came from the countries of Central Asia - China, South Korea. As for toys, over the past two years, the domestic industry has made such a breakthrough that there is less and less interest in foreign manufacturers”, - said Yury Obolonsky, executive director of the National Parents' Committee, at a press conference at the Public News Service.

What can you save on? In fairness, it should be noted that in many educational institutions the school uniform has ceased to be relevant, it was simply canceled. The dress code has remained in some public schools, predominantly in the lower grades. Also, some stores specializing in the sale of stationery are holding promotions these days. For example, 5 pencils or notebooks for the price of 4.

Also, before going to the store, it is worth checking if you are entitled to any benefits or payments for the fees of the child to school. “In more than half of our regions, programs are being implemented to help families with children prepare for school. Somewhere they allocate money for the purchase of briefcases, and somewhere - for a school uniform, and so on. On the State Services website, you can find out about support measures that are available to your family”, - Antonina Tsitsulina, president of the Association of the Children's Goods Industry, said at a press conference at the DOS.

This year, the state does not allocate, as in the past, money to support parents before September 1st. Experts explain this by the fact that the state has provided a wide range of measures to support low-income, large families and families in a difficult life situation. Tatyana Butskaya, chairwoman of the Council of Mothers of Russia, first deputy chairwoman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, said that this year, payments are provided at the federal level for families with children aged 8 to 17. If last year they relied only on families where one parent is raising a child, now any family with a child of school age who is in a difficult life situation, where the income per family member is less than one minimum, can apply for benefits. Such a family receives not even 10 thousand, but 12-13 thousand rubles, and there are regions where families can even count on 24 thousand rubles. And this is not a one-time payment, this is a monthly payment for a child. How to get this payout? “To do this, it’s enough just to submit one application through the State Services, the state will proactively collect all the other documents for you. It takes time from 10 to 30 days. Further, the payment is assigned through the State Services, no certificates are needed. At the regional level, things are a little different. Each region has its own support measures for schoolchildren - somewhere the authorities provide backpacks, somewhere - school or sports uniforms. You need to contact the MFC office to clarify what kind of support you are entitled to. Support measures in the regions can also be provided proactively, for example, if you are already included in the register of large or low-income families, in some regions - in the register of single parents. You can apply through the MFC and clarify what kind of support you are entitled to”, - Tatyana Butskaya, chairman of the Council of Mothers of Russia, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children, said at a press conference in the DOS.

With all the difficulties of getting the child to school, this problem has an obvious plus: there is no shortage of school supplies. At least for now.