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diamond
01-21-2011, 06:08 PM
Are labels really necessary? why do you need to label? if yes why sticky labels why do you all prefer sticky labels with cute patterns? ty

KrisM
01-21-2011, 06:27 PM
It depends. I never labeled anything until kids went to school. Then, while the kids generally know what is theirs, they're not perfect at recognizing things so labels help the teacher make sure the right shoes go on the kid. And, now, if a part of a lunch box gets replaced, having his name on it helps it come back to us, in theory.

Sticky works for me, since I have more kids and can take them off and put a new one on. An alternative is to only use a last name.

bubbaray
01-21-2011, 06:31 PM
Our daycare requires everything to be labeled with the child's first and last name. Once I sent DD#2 with a sippy that still had DD#1's name on it. They sharpied out DD#1s name and put DD#2s. Um, yeah, nice.

I do Mabels labels. LOVE them. They stick so well that sometimes I have trouble getting them off of things.

I use Sharpie on lunch boxes. I also make up business card sized labels and have them laminated and make luggage tags for backpacks. The Mabels Labels luggage tags are too small.

poohbear
01-21-2011, 07:55 PM
Our daycare requires everything to be labeled with the child's first and last name. Once I sent DD#2 with a sippy that still had DD#1's name on it. They sharpied out DD#1s name and put DD#2s. Um, yeah, nice.

I do Mabels labels. LOVE them. They stick so well that sometimes I have trouble getting them off of things.

I use Sharpie on lunch boxes. I also make up business card sized labels and have them laminated and make luggage tags for backpacks. The Mabels Labels luggage tags are too small.

Our daycare also requires bottles be labeled with names, but I just used sharpies for this. My friend used one of those p-touch labelers....
I think the labels are cute, but never found the need to spend the $$...

PunkyBoo
01-21-2011, 08:03 PM
Punkin never liked taking off his shoes at preschool so that was a non-issue. I bought some iron-on labels for his clothes when he started preschool but now find it much easier to just write his initials on the tag of his jacket, backpack and lunch bag (those are the only things he could potentially lose since he's not changing clothes at school.) I use a sharpie on the tags. I also used a sharpie or paint pen on his thermos bottles that he takes milk in for lunch. We also have a P-touch labeler and I used that when they had "bike days" at preschool to label his bike and helmet.

alexsmommy
01-21-2011, 08:15 PM
DS1's elementary school warns that there will be at least 10 of every hat, glove, scarf, boot, snow pants etc that Target sells in the lost and found by January 1 so label your child's if you are picky about getting the one your purchased back.

ett
01-21-2011, 08:40 PM
DS1's elementary school warns that there will be at least 10 of every hat, glove, scarf, boot, snow pants etc that Target sells in the lost and found by January 1 so label your child's if you are picky about getting the one your purchased back.

:yeahthat: Kids will have the same thing. At camp, another child drank out of DS1's thermos bottle even though it was labeled. I only had a small sticky label and the child must have not noticed. So the next day, I added the Inchbug bumpy name label onto the bottle.

Another time, DS1 had a backpack mix up and it was so much work trying to figure out whose it was because there was no name on the backpack or lunchbox.

So yeah, I think some kind of label is absolutely necessary. The Mabel's Label's sticky labels were very convenient because I could quickly label everything.

Jo..
01-22-2011, 01:20 AM
I only label their Camelbak bottles (stickers from designerlabelgal on etsy: I LOVE them).

If their hats or gloves get lost I'm not worried. I just ordered zipper tags for their coats since I don't own an iron to iron-on clothing labels and don't want to write on the cloth attached tags ($2.50 each from the same etsy seller)!

Their backpacks are embroidered with their names.

miketyson986
01-22-2011, 01:22 AM
:yeahthat: Kids will have the same thing. At camp, another child drank out of DS1's thermos bottle even though it was labeled. I only had a small sticky label and the child must have not noticed. So the next day, I added the Inchbug bumpy name label onto the bottle.

Another time, DS1 had a backpack mix up and it was so much work trying to figure out whose it was because there was no name on the backpack or lunchbox.

So yeah, I think some kind of label is absolutely necessary. The Mabel's Label's sticky labels were very convenient because I could quickly label everything.


I agree with your opinion

Puddy73
01-22-2011, 09:39 AM
For daycare, school and camp, yes! Teachers cannot remember which items belong to which kid, and kids are not always good at picking out their own items either. We use mostly Mabels Labels, but I have resorted to masking tape and a sharpie.

mnosky1
01-22-2011, 09:50 AM
For daycare- yes
For just school and stuff- maybe not
But it's so much easier. For each kid I cringed as I placed a $35 order for 2 packs of labels but they last forever (7 years and I throw away cups with perfect labels) and look so much better than any other label or marker.

egoldber
01-22-2011, 10:03 AM
but I have resorted to masking tape and a sharpie

This is mostly what I do and I prefer it.

I have a couple sheets of nicer stickers that I got from namemaker, but I generally only use those for sleep away camp for older DD.

emily_gracesmama
01-22-2011, 10:58 AM
Our preschool, camp and "real school" as Emily calls it want us to label everything, gloves, hats, snowboots, backpacks, lunchboxes. Both girls will go to camp at their preschool too this summer and that requires labelling swimsuits, towels and clothes since they change so I will probably be doing another order of Mabel's Label's soon. They do work great and stick very very well!

Karenn
01-22-2011, 01:57 PM
I didn't label until the kids switched to a school with uniforms and every item of clothing looks identical to every other item of clothing. Before then I labeled coats, but that's it. Now I label sweatshirts, shirts and pants too, partly for school, but also partly to help me tell DD and DS clothes apart when I do laundry!

new_mommy25
01-22-2011, 02:56 PM
DS has a tag I made hanging from his back pack so that is taken care of. I don't bother to label most of his uniform since they don't take them off and we don't have to deal with coats and such. When he does swimming for PE I write his name on the tag with a sharpie and just make sure he wears that uniform on PE day.

For school supplies I bought cheap labels off etsy. I couldn't stomach the expensive labels. So far the cheap labels have worked great!! The labels I put on his Camelbak bottle have been through the dishwasher almost daily and they are still going strong since August.

I bought these labels for crayons and other small school supplies:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62378346/120-four-colors-custom-waterproof-vinyl

I bought these for his water bottle, flash drive, and other school supplies:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54931292/72-pokemon-custom-waterproof-name-labels

She also has inexpensive iron-on labels but I've never tried them:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61129002/30-custom-iron-on-name-labels

hellokitty
01-22-2011, 03:14 PM
I think they are worth the $. If your child loses their backpack or a sweater, that alone could be the cost of a pk of labels. Most kids lose or misplace things pretty easily or sometimes other ppl might grab other kids' stuff by accident. I bought a pk of mabels labels 3 yrs ago and just started getting low, so just re-ordered again. The price has been worth it for us.

ckso
01-22-2011, 08:09 PM
At preschool, yes. Like pp said, everything needs to be labelled. things that aren't labeled ends up in a bin that you have to sort through. Some clothes I can use sharpie (especially socks) but most of the items either bleeds through her clothes (i.e. label-less t-shirts) or it smears when I use a sharpie on the label. When I do end up using a sharpie, it fades after a couple washes.

So for me, it's a nice convenience to buy label stickers when you have a little one. And I'm too lazy to use the iron-on types.

Jo..
01-22-2011, 09:20 PM
There is no need to spend a fortune though! I almost had a fit when pricing them at Label Daddy, Mabels, etc and contemplating spending $30-$50 per kid for labels.

Like Angie, I got my labels on Etsy. i spent under $10 shipped for labels for BOTH of my kids. They go through the dishwasher DAILY and are still perfect after many months.

ang79
01-22-2011, 11:24 PM
I have a 2 yr. old and 4 yr. old, both home with me all day. So I have not had to label things yet, but I'm guessing once we hit preschool next year I'll have to. I do have a set of Inchbug Bumpy Labels for each girl that I use on their sippy cups. At least 3 other kids in their playgroup have the same cups and they were always drinking out of each other's cups when we went to the playground, etc. and a few times my kids cups got taken home with someone else when not labeled (I did get them back though). The labels are also nice for my youngest daughter in church nursery so that the nursery workers don't mix the cups up.