To buy the My Child New Beginnings backpack, open the village shop, go to the Clothes tab, page through the list and pick the bag marked with a book icon. It costs 500 coins in most cases, and a cheaper 200-coin version turns up in the same rotating list, so read the price tag before you pay. It is one of the biggest early expenses in the game, and the child cannot start school without it.

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My Child New Beginnings buy backpack: four steps

  1. Open the shop in the town.

  2. Switch to the Clothing tab.

  3. Page through the list until you find the backpack with the book icon on it.

  4. Pay. It is 500 coins in most listings, with a 200-coin version appearing sometimes.

The five tabs and the rotating stock behind them are explained in the shop guide.

Two backpacks show up at random - one for 200 coins and one for 500 - so the price you see is the price you pay. If the shop is tight on money, work an odd job in the town first rather than buying something else.

Why the backpack gates the school step

The school step needs a backpack, and without one the child cannot be sent to school. The backpack is also one of only two shop items in the game that you buy and then have to wait for a chapter trigger to take effect - the other is the goldfish tank. Ordering the bag tells you that it unlocks a new story chapter, that it might take a while to arrive and that it will use story battery.

What else can block the school step is here, and the shop's tabs and rotating stock are here.

When it is not in stock

Refreshing the shop does not force a new backpack into the list. If the price tag you want is not there, buy an ordinary item - a shirt costs 300 coins - and check back later.

Repairing a damaged backpack

Classmates can damage the backpack after the child has started going to school, and three response options appear on screen. Answer with the comforting option so the mood loss is as small as possible.

Then repair it the same day:

  1. Go to the dining table.

  2. Click the scissors-shaped icon on the left of the screen.

  3. In the handcrafting interface, mend the bag. The repair costs one action point.

Leave the repair until the next day and the child goes to school with the broken backpack, and her mood drops further. The same table and the same scissors icon mend torn clothes, which is covered here.

FAQ

What stops the child from starting school?

Three things: there is no backpack, a dialogue answer has not been chosen yet, or the child is too frightened to go. Each one has its own fix, and the backpack is the usual reason.

Why can I not find an item in the village shop?

Stock rotates, so an item is not necessarily on the list at the moment you look. Refreshing swaps the food and toy listings, and the school backpack only turns up after you page through the Clothes tab.

My Child New Beginnings Can't Go to School: What Is Blocking ItMy Child New Beginnings can't go to school for three different reasons: no backpack, the wrong dialogue choice, or plain fear. Here is the fix for each.My Child New Beginnings Shop: Tabs, Stock and What to BuyThe My Child New Beginnings shop has five tabs and rotating stock. Here is where the backpack and the goldfish turn up, and what each refresh gives you.My Child New Beginnings Outfits: Buying and Mending ThemMy Child New Beginnings outfits are bought in the shop's Clothing tab, worn from the wardrobe in the child's bedroom, and mended by hand at the dining table.