Children don’t need labelling, but their possessions certainly do…
Sometimes it feels like every school operates as its own Bermuda Triangle ecosystem in which things seem to mysteriously disappear.
You name it: water bottles, lunch boxes, pencil cases, solitary plimsols, orphan socks, lonely mittens, AWOL toys, T-shirts, jumpers, and everything else a child walks into the school with – all are at constant risk of being swallowed into a vortex.
Some of these things actually surface again, usually in a large plastic tub labelled ‘Lost Property’. It occupies a significant portion of real estate and is normally located near the school entrance or in an airless, multi-purpose room that resembles a black hole.
There is always an end-of-term clear-out where things are held aloft in a special assembly with an exasperated member of staff pinching their nose and asking, “Who does this belong to?!” (Lunch boxes are normally opened wearing a hazmat suit and full breathing apparatus, as the contents tend to resemble an abandoned science experiment.)
Usually there are no takers for the bulk of the items presented, so these are either recycled, donated to charity, quarantined or binned…
We all forget, misplace and lose items, but this is where children really excel themselves as serial offenders. They don’t mean to, of course, and some don’t realise they’ve lost something even when presented with it! It’s not their fault; they’re still under construction.
Let’s not forget, too, that schools are chaotic and busy environments, so things are bound to get mixed up.
But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing that can be done to address the issue; in fact the solution is simple: name tags.
When things are correctly labelled, life is easier all round. Not only does it save valuable lesson time, as teachers aren’t required to play detective to identify who owns what, but also an awful lot of expense, as parents don’t have to keep forking out for replacements.
School equipment and uniforms aren’t cheap. The average cost of all back-to-school items per year is £315, and that’s not an amount you want to have to add to through pointless rebuying.
What’s more, name tags help save the planet. Annually, 1.4 million school uniforms and items are lost, creating approximately 350 tonnes of waste. The high plastic content of uniforms is very bad for the environment!
The great news is that labelling isn’t hard work – forget needless needlework, as iron-on and sticker name tags make life hassle-free.
The next question, then, is where to get world-class name tags. Time for some name-dropping!
The market leader in the UK and the first choice for labels in multiple European countries is My Nametags, an award-winning labelling company that covers all the bases.
It specialises in producing fully customisable, durable, and long-lasting products for children at different stages of their lives. Its impressive catalogue consists of colour stickers, iron-ons, maxi-stickers (large stickers), mini-stickers (smaller stickers), height charts, wall stickers and more.
Whichever you opt for, My Nametags’ products scream high quality. They share two core components: simplicity and longevity, so everything on offer is easy to apply and made to last.
All the name labels have space for three lines of text, so a child’s name, class, and parents’ phone number can all comfortably be added.
They’re waterproof, so they can go in washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and microwaves.
And what about health and hygiene? In the bustling school environment, an unseen adversary lurks – invisible germs.
These microscopic invaders can hinder children’s learning and their well-being, which is why it’s useful to know that My Nametags is the only company that sells antimicrobial labels; this makes them ideal for use on lunch boxes, water bottles and stationery.
They’re also fun: the labels are easy to design and order and can be used on any school item, including pens, bags, shoes, bottles, stationery, clothing and sports equipment.
My Nametags’ versatile colour stickers can easily be personalised by children themselves and effortlessly applied.
With a choice of icons, backgrounds and fonts available, children develop a real sense of ownership and become more invested in looking after what bears their name. My Nametags allows customers to add colour schemes, names, and extra design features to their labels, too, to make them as original as possible.
It’s worth noting that labelling can also serve as a useful teaching tool for vocabulary as part of this process of naming pupils’ personal possessions.
An additional benefit to schools of using My Nametags is that doing so can generate some much-needed revenue.
The company offers a simple fundraising programme that allows schools and PTAs to raise funds by earning commission on sales of their products.
Available as a set of 175, My Nametags’ mini-stickers are discreet labels ideally suited for use with small items such as pens, pencils, rubbers and rulers, as well as shoes, small musical instruments and water bottles.
For larger items such as books, sports gear and lunch boxes, the fun-themed maxi-stickers provide more variety and come in a set of different geometric shapes.
With the average child losing nine items of clothing a year, iron-on labels are a must for uniforms. My Nametags offers custom colour iron-on name labels that can be applied in seconds and come with a 10-year washing guarantee, meaning they’ll withstand countless washes without peeling or fading.
Ideally, a label should stick on and stay on, and outlast the item that it helps identify. These will do just that!
Name tags are a must-have, especially for school- and nursery-aged children; they’re an effective, simple solution to the problem of lost property and keeping tabs on what belongs to whom.
If personal possessions are labelled, then children have more than a fighting chance of getting them back when they go astray. According to My Nametags’ research, a lost item with a name label attached is 50% more likely to be returned to its rightful owner, while 70% of all labelled items are returned within only 24 hours!
At My Nametags, you’ll find everything your pupils and their families need to make lost property a thing of the past.
Visit www.mynametags.com
These are the best labels on the block because they…
1 | Remove the need for sewing or marking clothes with a clothing stamp that fades over time
2 | Use superior and versatile non-running ink, facilitating a wide range of uses
3 | Feature a silver-based antimicrobial coating
4 | Are quick and super easy to apply – get everything labelled in moments!
5 | Are fully customisable for pupil personalisation
6 | Offer a huge choice of fun and colourful crafty designs
7 | Stay stuck and are engineered to stand the test of time
8 | Offer best value for money in terms of cost, quality and sustainability
9 | Help generate funds for schools
10 | Are a recipient of the Queen’s Award
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