For some parents, the beginning of a school year comes with a familiar ritual: buying notebooks, arranging textbooks and carefully covering every book with brown paper. Even when schools no longer insist on it and children have access to plastic covers or digital learning materials, some parents continue the tradition.
At first glance, it may look like nothing more than an old-fashioned way of protecting books. But psychology offers a more interesting explanation. The habit can involve ritual behaviour, perceived control, parental identity, object attachment and the emotional meaning people assign to everyday possessions.
