KITCHENER -- Back-to-school shopping lists have a few extra items on them this year.
In addition to normal school supplies, parents and students are shopping for hand sanitizer and masks.
"[We're] stocking up on more Kleenex, more hand sanitizer," said Mike Lachapelle, a father of four.
Lachapelle has started back-to-school shopping. Two of his kids are in elementary school and two are in secondary school, all in the Waterloo District Catholic School Board.
"I'm a little worried about them in such close contact with so many people," he said. "We've been pretty cautious since the whole beginning of COVID."
He also bough reusable masks, which are mandatory in classrooms.
But Lachapelle isn't just stocking up on safety supplies.
"Stuff like scissors and glue that the school normally supplies and has on hand," Lachapelle said. "We're going to send them in their pencil cases."
That way, his children won't need to share and borrow.
"Limit the contact they have with anyone else, to stop the virus from spreading," he said.
Parents said they're spending more than usual this year.
"We need to spend more money on masks and hand sanitizer, more school supplies for each," said Grace Sun, a mother of two.
Some parents are buying extra supplies just in case.
"What happens if you sneeze in your mask and it's super gross," Teresa Martino, a mother of two, said.
Parents said they don't mind paying for a few extra items, if it means their kids will be safe when they go back to school.
