From water bottles and lunchboxes to Labubu bag charms and KPop Demon Hunters gear, Deliveroo reveals the back-to-school items parents are scrambling to remember in 2026.
The summer holidays may be coming to an end, but for parents across the UK, the real challenge is only just beginning.
As millions of children prepare to return to school, new research from Deliveroo has revealed the back-to-school essentials parents are most likely to forget – and the list looks very different from a few years ago.
According to the research, 83% of UK school parents have forgotten at least one item for their child’s school bag, while 84% say they’ve made an emergency trip to a local shop before even reaching the school gates.
And for some, the first day back can be seriously stressful, with 15% of parents admitting they’ve cried because of the chaos.
Water Bottles Top the Back-to-School Forgetting List
While children’s school bags may be evolving, some of the most commonly forgotten items remain surprisingly traditional.
Water bottles are the number one item parents are most likely to forget, with 47% admitting they’ve left one behind. Lunchboxes follow at 40%, while 27% have forgotten their child’s PE kit.
The full top 10 is:
- Water bottle – 47%
- Lunchbox – 40%
- PE kit – 27%
- Tissues – 24%
- Pencil case – 24%
- Name tags/stickers – 15%
- Socks – 14%
- Fidget toys – 14%
- Plasters – 12%
- Ice packs – 12%
For parents attempting to get everything ready the night before, it’s easy to see how something can slip through the cracks.
Labubus, Fidget Toys and KPop Demon Hunters Enter the School Bag
The traditional school checklist isn’t the only thing parents need to keep track of in 2026.
Pop culture is having an increasingly visible influence on what children want to take with them to school. Deliveroo’s research found that 14% of parents have forgotten fidget toys, while 11% have forgotten bag charms such as Labubus.
Meanwhile, 12% have forgotten branded school products, including increasingly popular KPop Demon Hunters water bottles, while 10% have forgotten key rings.
It highlights how children’s school bags have become more than somewhere to carry books and stationery. They’re also a way for children to show off their favourite characters, franchises and trends.
Parents are also having to contend with the summer’s unusually warm weather, with 12% saying they’ve forgotten ice packs and another 12% forgetting handheld fans.
The Back-to-School Mental Load Is Growing
The research suggests that getting children ready for September has become a surprisingly complicated task.
Nearly nine in 10 parents (89%) say they’re always surprised by how quickly back-to-school arrives, despite knowing the summer holidays are coming to an end.
What’s more, 65% leave checking their child’s timetable until the night before, while 66% say they rely heavily on the class WhatsApp group to keep track of what their children need.
For many families, the preparation doesn’t stop with one shopping trip. More than a third (39%) make at least four separate shopping trips in the run-up to the new school year.
And when children inevitably lose their favourite belongings, parents are often forced to buy them again. More than half (52%) say they’ve had to repurchase lost pop-culture merchandise, including Paw Patrol, Bluey and KPop Demon Hunters items.
Deliveroo Launches a £5 ‘Forget-Me-Not-Shop’ Offer
To help parents deal with those last-minute school supply emergencies, Deliveroo is offering £5 off back-to-school purchases through its ‘Forget-Me-Not-Shop’ promotion.
Parents can use the promo code Forget-Me-Not-Shop at checkout between 2 and 4 September 2026, with the offer available across participating retail and grocery partners including Zapp, Boots, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
The promotion is designed to make it possible to pick up forgotten essentials without having to make another trip to the shops – potentially saving parents precious time during the morning school run.
The offer has no minimum spend, although it is limited to one use per customer across the first 600 redemptions. Deliveroo delivery, service and small-order fees still apply, and the promotion is available to customers aged 18+ in Great Britain.
Deliveroo’s Full Terms And Conditions
Back-to-School Has Changed
The research paints an interesting picture of modern school life. Alongside the familiar lunchboxes, PE kits and pencil cases, parents now have a growing list of trend-led essentials to remember.
From Labubu bag charms and fidget toys to KPop Demon Hunters water bottles, the modern school bag reflects the interests and pop-culture obsessions of a new generation.
So, if you’re preparing for the school run this week, it might be worth checking the bag one more time – because that water bottle probably isn’t going to remember itself.
