Mothers from Abu Dhabi: Preparing School Lunches is Not Just About Food, But Also Emotional Strain

As the 2026-2027 academic year approaches, parents are seeking ways to manage the expenses associated with the start of the school year. These methods include price comparison, budgeting, reusing school supplies, and utilizing discounts.

Om Hasher, a mother of two children from Dubai, begins the process by checking the school supplies already available at home before visiting stores. She reviews her children's items from the previous year and creates a list only of what needs replacement. She notes that she separates purchases into necessary and optional items, setting a budget for each child to avoid buying unnecessary or duplicate goods. Sometimes she buys certain supplies in bulk if it is more cost-effective, especially those that will be used throughout the year.

Planning has also helped other parents distribute costs and avoid spontaneous purchases. Maryam Hajji Mohammed, a mother of two daughters entering the 7th and 4th grades in Ras Al Khaimah, began preparing for the new academic year as early as July. Before ordering uniforms, she checked with the school and teachers whether the uniform and logos would remain unchanged. She then ordered official and sports uniforms according to her daughters' measurements, which allowed her to choose a longer and more modest style instead of buying ready-made clothes in a larger size.

Maryam also donated her daughter's old school uniform to a local Charity Fund that organizes exhibitions for needy students, thereby giving the clothing a second life instead of letting it sit unused at home. Regarding stationery, bags, labels, and other accessories, she preferred to shop online. This allowed her daughters to choose what they wanted using filters to compare prices. Living in an area with limited access to nearby shops, she noted that online shopping also helped avoid crowded stores, parking issues, and long queues during the rush at the beginning of the school year.

Price comparison across different stores and online platforms is part of Om Hasher's approach. She has noticed significant differences in the prices of school bags, lunch boxes, colored supplies, and stationery featuring popular characters. She emphasizes that sometimes items of the same quality are available much cheaper in another store, so she does not buy from the first place she finds.

For Amna, another mother from Dubai with five daughters, checking last year's supplies is also the starting point for her back-to-school purchases. She first inspects all the items from the previous year, separating damaged or unnecessary ones, and then buys only what is missing. Amna also monitors online promotions and recently took advantage of discounts on school bags, lunch boxes, and other necessities. However, she believes that product quality remains an important criterion when deciding if a discount is worth it.

Om Hasher warns parents against blindly following large discounts, advising them to check the original price and compare it with prices elsewhere before making a purchase decision. She argues that not every discount means the price is truly lower. Furthermore, she asks herself questions about the actual necessity of the item, its quality, and its potential use. If the item is already owned or not needed, she will not buy it, even at a big discount, because buying something unnecessary is not saving money.

Reusing supplies is another common way to reduce costs. Om Hasher says that school bags, pencil cases, and lunch boxes can often last for more than one year if they are in good condition, and leftover paints, pens, folders, and rulers can also be reused. Amna agrees that this applies to school bags, although children sometimes want to change them. She adds that bags can remain useful outside of class, for example, for carrying toys and other items during family outings.

Maryam also tries to minimize school supply waste. At home, she keeps partially used notebooks, colored pencils, stationery, and craft materials in a special corner for her daughters' drawing and other activities. Items that are in good condition but no longer needed are either donated or given to relatives and friends. Such habits help extend the lifespan of school supplies and reduce the need to replace everything at the beginning of each school year.

Overall, the approach in these three families is not about completely foregoing spending, but about making every purchase meaningful: by checking existing stock, planning ahead, comparing prices, evaluating discounts, and finding ways to reuse or pass on items that are still in good condition.