Every September, as back-to-school shopping season kicks off, a wave of shopping lists emerges—lists of items parents feel they must buy for their children to make learning more convenient. For some reason, these lists always seem to include smartwatches with ten functions and tablets that cost as much as a month’s salary.

I’ve tried to put together a different list of items a child will actually use more than twice.

I want to note right away that these prices are current as of the time this article was written; they change constantly and vary from store to store.

1. Power bank

In recent years, the power bank has gone from being a travel accessory to a basic necessity.

For a schoolchild, the logic is simple: the device should fully charge a phone at least twice and not weigh a ton in their backpack.

Capacity guideline: 10,000 mAh is ideal for everyday use. A 20,000 mAh power bank is needed to get through a long power outage at home, but it’s hard to carry one like that in your backpack every day.

Prices: Reliable 10,000 mAh models start at around 700–900 UAH. Models with fast charging and a standard design cost 1,200–2,000 UAH. 20,000 mAh options start at 1,500 UAH.

What to look for: a USB-C port that supports both fast charging and fast output. Cheap models often take 8 hours to charge themselves, which defeats the whole purpose.

What to avoid: No-name power banks claiming 50,000 mAh for 400 UAH. They don’t actually have that capacity, and the quality of the components in a device a child carries in their backpack isn’t just a matter of cost—it’s a matter of safety.

2. E-reader

An e-reader solves a specific problem: textbooks and literature in a format that doesn’t tempt you to switch to TikTok. The E Ink screen doesn’t strain your eyes, holds a charge for weeks, and has no apps other than reading.

Prices for basic 6-inch models range from about 5,000 to 7,000 UAH. The PocketBook 619 Verse Lite and PocketBook 629 fall within this price range. Models with larger screens or color E Ink will cost 10,000 UAH and up.

PocketBook or Kindle? For Ukrainian users, the PocketBook is usually more practical: it opens FB2, EPUB, and MOBI files without conversion, and most Ukrainian book resources distribute files in these very formats. The Kindle is tied to the Amazon ecosystem, and every third-party file will need to be converted.

Who shouldn’t get one: If a child reads nothing but required reading material, a 6,000 UAH e-reader won’t change that. The device doesn’t create a reading habit; it merely reduces friction where a habit already exists.

3. Headphones

For studying, you don’t need the best headphones—you need the most comfortable ones for extended wear. Your child will be wearing them for an hour during an online class, not listening to an album.

What really matters: a decent microphone (which is half the value in remote classes), a comfortable fit, and battery life.

Prices for functional TWS models start at around 700–1,000 UAH. Models with decent ANC start at 2,000–2,500 UAH. Full-size on-ear headphones with ANC start at 2,500 UAH.

Full-size or in-ear? For home learning, over-ear headphones are often better: they usually have a better microphone and aren’t as easy to lose. In-ear earbuds are mainly for travel.

If your child is younger, look for models with volume limits. This is a genuine recommendation from otolaryngologists, as constantly listening at high volumes through headphones can affect hearing in the long term.

4. A desk lamp with natural light

This is the least “gadget-like” item on the list—and the one with the greatest impact on health.

Your child spends several hours at the desk every day. A cheap lamp with flickering and a cold, bluish light can cause eye strain, headaches, and disrupted sleep if used in the evening.

What to look for:

adjustable color temperature—warmer light in the evening, neutral during the day

flicker-free—look for the “flicker-free” label

Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 90 or higher—important when your child is drawing or working with colored materials

brightness control

Prices: Basic adjustable LED lamps start at 500–800 UAH. Models with a standard CRI and flicker protection range from 1,500–3,000 UAH. Next come options like Xiaomi and BenQ, where prices reach 5,000+ UAH, but for a schoolchild, that’s overkill.

Practical tip: The lamp should be positioned on the side opposite your dominant hand. For right-handers, that’s on the left. Otherwise, your hand will cast a shadow right onto your notebook.

5. Tablet

I’m listing this last on purpose, because it’s the most expensive and controversial purchase on the list.

A tablet makes sense if the child has a specific use case: online classes, working with PDF textbooks, drawing, or taking notes with a stylus. If there’s no such scenario, it’s just an expensive device for watching videos—something the student already has in the form of a phone.

Prices: Basic budget models start at 5,000–7,000 UAH. Models with stylus support and a decent screen range from 8,000 to 15,000 UAH. Flagship models like the iPad start at 20,000 UAH and up.

What really matters: at least 4 GB of RAM (otherwise the device will start to slow down within a year), a decent screen, and—if you plan to write by hand—stylus support with pressure sensitivity.

What Not to Buy

A section that’s usually missing from these guides, yet it’s more useful than half the recommendations.

A “tracking” smartwatch. GPS in kids’ watches is unreliable, accuracy often varies, and the battery drains quickly. If your goal is to know where your child is, this feature is already available on a phone and works better. A watch makes sense for elementary school-aged children as a way to stay in touch without a full-fledged smartphone, but not as a tracking tool.

A laptop “to grow into” for the maximum budget. Technology gets cheaper and becomes outdated. If a laptop is truly needed, it’s wiser to get a decent model now than a flagship model that will still be a three-year-old flagship in three years.

Budget Summary

Up to 3,000 UAH: a power bank + a decent lamp. This is the basics that actually work every day.

Up to 10,000 UAH: Add an e-reader or decent headphones to this—depending on whether your child reads or spends more time in online classes.

Over 15,000 UAH: A tablet makes sense here, but only if there’s a specific use case for it.

And one final thought, which is perhaps more important than the entire list: no gadget improves learning on its own. It either removes an obstacle that gets in the way or adds another distracting screen. The difference between these two outcomes lies not in the device’s specs, but in the specific need for which it was purchased.