As a preschool teacher I knew what I was ordering in terms of size. My two, soon to be three, year old daughter wanted to be just like her brother and carry her own backpack to school. She is small for her age so this was really the only option. That being said, it will probably need to be upgraded to a larger size by winter time. While this is built for a small child to wear safely it unfortunately is not capable of holding everything they need. My students only come 2.5 hours a day but still need space for their snack bag and change of clothes each day. In the winter they also need snow pants and shoes. As someone who is trying to instill independence in children this size can make it very difficult as they cannot fit everything in it without help. If you are thinking of it for a preschooler I would recommend the original or original plus size.
I bought two of these when my twins were entering kindergarten. I had read a review where someone said he used his until grad school! My son got red and my daughter pink. These are incredible. I had bought other back packs from stores in pre-school and I had to get a new one each year. Well my kids are now entering fifth grade in the fall. The backpacks are in perfect condition. My kids want new ones because they want different (older kid) colors and they want ones with a water bottle holder. I asked them couldn't they just keep these until grad school? So in August, they shall pick out new ones from LL Bean and I shall save these for my grandchildren.
I ordered this backpack, when it came on sale the spring floral one with the sky blue background (discontinued style?) for my child who is going to Elementary school, along with the matching lunchbox. This is a NICE, good sized, quality backpack which holds a lot of items, and while it looks large on my child, it is lightweight, easy to spot. I ordered it with the monogram (can't really see it on a printed backpack, but hopefully won't get lost/misplaced) and the reflective backing is helpful as well. I have a feeling we will be using this a LONG time! I plan on purchasing my child's backpacks/lunchboxes from LLBean always- as they have all lasted longer than the dept store brands. Great product!
I ordered this backpack for my son for Kindergarten. The zipper went off track yesterday while in his single digits of school left. The good news is that LL Bean will exchange it! I will never purchase any backpack from ANYWHERE else! I'm such a satisfied customer! Thank you, LL Bean!
