Getting ready to go back to school marks the bittersweet end of summer and the excitement of a new school year. Prepping usually involves running errands for fresh school supplies and outfits.
First-day-of-school pictures are one way to immortalize the moment. But one Millennial mom argues that thanks to social media, what was once a sweet and simple rite of passage has been ruined by its “eventification.”
Connecticut mom of four Kallie Branciforte, a blogger and YouTuber known as That Practical Mom, shared her thoughts. In a YouTube video that has sparked debate among many fellow parents, she compared what going back to school is like today with how it was in the ’90s and ’00s.
What going back to school used to be like
Branciforte explained what going back to school used to look like, recalling getting new outfits and backpacks and seeing “the back-to-school commercials. The big bins of 50-cent crayons at Walmart.”
“It’s almost like we’ve all forgotten about paper-bag lunches,” she later added. “Just saying, PB&J tastes different out of a paper bag.”
Branciforte considered the reason for the change. “We often try too hard to create special moments out of things that are already special on their own,” she observed.
The ‘eventification’ of back to school
Branciforte argued that by using social media, parents are exposed to feeds full of back-to-school must-haves that are featured on “Amazon favorites and lunchbox product lists.”
As she described, “Now it’s balloon arches, giant inflatable pencils, personalized signs, custom T-shirts, endless lunchbox accessories… Gadgets for backpacks, gadgets for lockers, gadgets you didn’t even know existed until you scrolled.”
All she sees now on Instagram are overly curated posts of back-to-school supplies and events.
She shared, “As a parent, this kind of feels like whiplash. It’s a ton of stuff I did not know I was supposed to be doing. And actually, none of this is required for back to school. But the problem is the more you’ve seen it, and after you’ve watched similar videos enough times, they start to feel kind of normal, almost like they are required.”
Branciforte emphasized that she was not “making fun of balloon arches or shaming parents for being materialistic.” She was simply saying that “most of us don’t buy into the idea of the ‘eventification’ of back to school because we were trying to show off. I think we’re doing it because we love our kids. And that’s what makes this kind of content so effective and so persuasive.”
The economic impact of back-to-school ‘eventification’
Branciforte noted that back-to-school time is the second biggest shopping season of the year, behind the holiday season. In 2026, families are expected to spend a record $43.3 billion on K-12 back-to-school items and an average of $864 per family, according to the National Retail Federation.
Parents are willing to spend money to create memorable first days of school, which brands want to capitalize on.
“They know how to spin it. They’re not just selling school supplies. They are selling you a feeling of creating a special or magical childhood… They are selling the feeling of being a thoughtful and organized mom,” Branciforte said.
Parents react
In the comment section of Branciforte’s video, many parents shared their thoughts and experiences with the “eventification” of back to school:
“What really gets me is that almost ~nobody~ would be doing this if there was no platform to post footage of it on.”
“If everything is special, nothing is special.”
“It’s not just overwhelming to parents, either. when it’s overkill, the kids lose all anticipation, all excitement, it goes flat. bring back treasuring fewer things.”
“Who determined that a ‘magical childhood’ is about stuff?”
“My mom used to write a note everyday…. usually ‘i love you’ and a smiley face- but always on a scrap of paper that had printing on the other side. There are simple ways to make your kid feel loved and special.”
“I did first-day-of-school and last-day-of-school ice cream with my three kids. My first grandchild starts preschool next week, and my DIL texted me to ask if I would like to go to start-of-school ice cream with them. This tells me it was meaningful to my kids, and it was – and is – a simple, repeatable tradition that can adjust as kids get older.”
