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Some families are spending more than $1,000 for back to school
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Dont freak out if you think youre spending more for your back-to-school items. Prices have gone up.

Huntington Banks annual Backpack Index, released in late July, found that parents with at least three children in elementary school will pay $649 for supplies, where as parents with three middle school children will pay $941 and those with three high school children will pay $1,402 for their supplies.

These are all increases from last year, according to the report. Parents with elementary school children have seen a 1 percent increase in prices, where as middle school parents have seen a 2.5 percent price jump and high school parents have seen a 9 percent increase since last year, according to the report.

This can be a problem for low-income families, who may struggle to afford all necessary back-to-school items, according to George Mokrzan, the director of economics for Huntington Bank.

With the ongoing slow growth in wages, it is difficult for many families to meet the rising costs of sending children to school, Mokrzan said in a press release. For a family of five living at the poverty level guideline of $28,410, the cost of sending three children to school would consume as much as 10 percent of their income.

Thats especially troubling since one in every five school-age children lives below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Thats about 10.9 million children overall.

Back-to-school shopping has long been a spending issue for families since theyll often buy the popular backpacks and latest fashion trends. It doesnt help that back-to-school shopping comes weeks after summer vacations, which can also be costly ventures.

But not all parents budget for back to school. In fact, a survey from Retail Me Not found that more than half of parents dont budget their back-to-school shopping and will spend about $300 on their childs wishlist of back-to-school items, according to 660 News.

Still, a back-to-school budget is highly recommended by experts.

Sandra Hanna, the CEO of Smart Cookies, told 660 News that a budget will make the back-to-school shopping season less stressful for families.

You can rework things in your budget. If you allocate, say $40 for a backpack, and then your little one decides they want to spend a little more, and you work with them on that, then I think that that is a learning opportunity, Hanna told 660 News.

Hanna recommends that parents have their children spend their own money on the more high-priced items, which could teach youngsters a lesson about personal responsibility.

Tell them, if you want that new iPad, if you want the new computer, whatever it is, then you need to come up with how were going to pay for it, Hanna said. So whether that is digging into their allowance, doing extra chores around the house, maybe they help with the neighbors yard.

My colleague Kelsey Dallas wrote about this issue last week and pointed towards CNNs Moneys list of best back-to-school deals for technology and a U.S. News & World Report list of apps that can replace some commonly expensive back-to-school items, which can help those parents in search of affordable ways to handle back-to-school shopping.

For more on back to school, see our articles here:

Cant wait for the kids to go back to school? These parents cant either

Simple back-to-school tips that can help your child improve in school

Parents looking for ways to save on back-to-school purchases
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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