How Brisbane mum got her triplets school ready, reveals her cost-saving tips

Lorren Davey – mother to triplets Clay, Elaina and Aiden – has spent weeks shopping for school essentials ahead of the trio starting Year 1 and she has some great cost-saving tips to share.

Thirty-three books, 21 rolls of contact, and 18 glue sticks – a Brisbane mother of triplets reveals her experience of getting them Year 1 ready and the cost cutters she put to use.

Aiden, Elaina and Clay Davey will start at Birkdale State School this month and mother Lorren has been labelling stationery and contacting books until 11pm every day last week.

The five-year-old trio each have different tastes in lunch box colours and the food inside, but thankfully they share a few things in common – like shoe size.

The triplets had a tough start to life.

A routine 25-week scan showed Lorren’s cervix had shortened dramatically.

She was put on bedrest for the next four weeks.

The pint-sized miracles were born 11 weeks early at Mater Mothers’ Hospital and all had breathing difficulties. Aiden (1.125kg) was born at 10.16am, Elaina (1.04kg) at 10.17am, and Clay (1kg) at 10.18am.

Lorren Davey with her miracles. Elaina had to be resuscitated after birth. Photo: Supplied.

They are now all healthy and they have developed their own personalities.

“They (the twins) are quite particular in the colour they like when it comes to lunch boxes,” Mrs Davey said.

“They are very different with foods – Aidan likes mango, Elaina likes blueberries, and Clay likes grapes and pears. Elaina likes Shapes biscuits, but the other two don’t.

“Thankfully they are generally about the same size, and I got a ‘buy one, get one half price’ deal at Spendless Shoes.

“Their school bags have just arrived from Kmart – they were $70.

“I’ve been lucky with the uniforms because some other parents took pity on me and gave us hand me downs, but I’m yet to buy winter clothes.”

Mrs Davey estimates she has spent almost $1000 on school supplies and clothes so far.

Australian Catholic University early education and childhood media expert Dr Kate Highfield is preparing her own child to start school.

She said the hidden financial costs of back to school can often be overlooked.

“If a family puts the child in daycare prior to school, it is often to allow the parents to work full-time,” she said.

“But when school starts, there is the hidden cost of one parent having to reduce their hours to do pick-up and drop-off, or the extra cost of putting the child in after-school care.”

Clay, Elaina and Aiden Davey will be Birkdale State School’s first ever triplets. Photo: Lyndon Mechielsen.

Dr Highfield also warned parents of falling into the trap of splashing cash on fancy school supplies when there are cheaper or even free alternatives.

“Families generally spend a lot of money buying books and stationery … but it’s the free stuff that can have a great impact,” she said.

“One of the best things parents can be doing is reading to their child using a free library membership.

“We know reading to a child daily helps with so many things like paying attention, as well as academic skills such as reading, comprehension and literacy.

“In Queensland, there are incredible library projects focusing on promoting a love of literacy and books in children. Queensland libraries are among the best in the country at this.”

Dr Highfield highlighted the State Library of Queensland’s ‘First 5 Forever’ program delivered by public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres aimed at building strong literacy foundations for children 0-5 years.