How parents can prepare for the coronavirus learn-from-home reality

Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi and Alexis Christoforous discuss what parents and retailers can expect this back-to-school shopping season with Breegan Jane, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designer.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: The school year ahead is full of uncertainty, this we know. And as both families and retailers prepare for what's to come, some new data shows spending is predicted to hit a record high this back-to-school shopping season. In fact, there's one survey that says parents of kids in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $789 per family.

What are they going to be spending on? Here to talk about it with us as interior designer Breegan Jane who recently joined HGTV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." And we should add she is the mom of two. Breegan, good to see you here this morning. I think we all have-- we all want-- we all want to get you off to the side after this interview and talk to you about our home renovations because we're all spending so much time at home going, this needs to be done, that needs to be done.

BREEGAN JANE: That's what I'm here for.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, let's talk back-to-school for a moment. What are people spending record amounts of money on when a lot of kids are going to be going remote this school season?

BREEGAN JANE: It's so interesting with all this uncertainty that spending is up. But I think what we see in parents is that we are always prepared for all options. And so that's where our spending is really coming in. We are looking at remote learning preparedness as well as traditional school.

So that means, like, we're spending money on safety gear. If our kids are going back to school, we want all the wipes, we want the goggles, and that is showing in our wallets. But additionally, for those of us, you know, doing remote learning, I am one of those parents, we are preparing to setup schools inside of our homes.

So setting up that classroom looks like spending money on furniture and things to set up our learning experience in the home environment.

BRIAN SOZZI: Breegan, how can I find a good deal? Like I mentioned to you off camera, I'm in the process of redoing my kitchen. And I've been shocked by some of the prices on this stuff. Let's say, $1,200 to hang four simple white doors in my place. It doesn't make a lot of sense. How do I find a deal in this day and age?

BREEGAN JANE: You know what's nice is online spending continues to be the leader. And there is ability to search for the deal and look at all your options. We went into a traditional retail scenario before that, they had a lot of ability to not show us what our competitors were, you know, pricing things at.

But now, the world is your oyster. And I think the retail consumer is leading the trend and looking for those savings.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You mentioned a moment ago about, sort of, making the home space a school space, especially if you're talking about a smaller space to begin with. How do you even start to do that for your kids and to make that a comfortable space for them to learn?

BREEGAN JANE: My personal spending as well as the PayPal study is showing that we are buying things like headphones. Those are important small purchases that are going to allow me to work from home as well as my kids to be engaged in their studies while we overlap in the same space.

BRIAN SOZZI: What are some necessities for the new work-from-school-- work-from-home kitchen?

BREEGAN JANE: I think that definitely educational materials, but we're also seeing arts and crafts and scissors and glue and all of the things that our classrooms used to provide. We are wanting those at home. Markers, or if you're an older student, we need that computer here and available to tap into our classrooms.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: How should retailers be thinking about back-to-school this year? Because, I mean, I can just tell you, you know, from personal experience. I'm not running out and buying a lot of clothes for my kids. Because a lot of the time, they're going to be inside. So how can retailers be thinking about this time?

BREEGAN JANE: It's interesting because we are seeing that things like clothing, people are still going in store for because they want to try it on. But as we look towards these new trends, what we are seeing is that people want that buy now, pay later flexibility. Especially in these uncertain times with the rising costs, that can help stretch your dollar. And credit lines help you do that, like PayPal Credit is a great one to the mom who's looking to stretch that dollar with all this extra spending.

BRIAN SOZZI: What's the best way to home organize? I've been out buying plastic Rubbermaid containers for the past month I have nowhere to put these things, and it looks all neat, but am I doing it wrong?

BREEGAN JANE: Maybe, because a clear container, you can see the chaos. So as a designer, one of my favorite tricks is a basket with a lid. You can just hide it, but the clear is where you went wrong there. So, but I--

BRIAN SOZZI: All right, no, hey, take me to task. I definitely don't know what I'm doing. Now that I'm home so much, you see every crevice of your kitchen and your living room.

BREEGAN JANE: Hide it away in a basket with a lid, put it behind the shelf. That is going to help you have peace of mind and clarity of your space. But it is important that we have everything right now within hand's reach, especially as we try to work and go back to school, all on top of each other.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You are speaking my language, out of sight, out of mind. My mind gets so cluttered when I see all that junk around me. How do you help your kid, though, you know, your eight or 10-year-old kid stay organized during this time at home?

BREEGAN JANE: Yeah, mine are littler than eight and 10, so one of the things for, like, a five and a six-year-old I say is a great trick is putting everything down on their level. It helps them interact tactically with their environment, but also empowers them to work within this space. I think for eight to 10, they want to be excited about their environment, so let them dedicate, sort of, creativity to their working environment, even if that's just their desk and picking their pencil holder.

Those things will help excite them when it comes to all the schoolwork that sometimes begrudgingly they have to show up for.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Yeah, that's good advice. Right, have them, sort of, have a say in their workspace. Good advice, Breegan Jane. Thanks so much for being with us.

BREEGAN JANE: Thank you. And good luck back to school.