To all NJ retailers: Can we please cool it with the July back-to-school ads? (Opinion)

Summer in New Jersey. A time for all our grade school kids, teens, and educational staff to kick back and take a break from all the studying and homework from the long school year.

Perhaps there are long vacations in store? Or maybe summer camp? Whatever you have done or are planning to do, New Jersey still has plenty of time before the next school year begins.

My kids alone recently started summer camp. Even though I wish they didn't have to get up so early, it is nice to have some normalcy back in our lives this year.

Maybe the big thing is the beach? After all, the Jersey Shore is certainly one of the best places to check out throughout the summer season. But whatever it is you're looking to do, Summers in New Jersey are simply the best.

And after the past couple of years of restrictions and cancellations, the absolute last thing most of us want to hear is ads talking about back to school. As far as most are concerned, those books can stay packed away in the lockers until September.

But yet, some retailers in New Jersey feel the time to pull the books out is now. Granted it's only a very select few of them, the point here is that July is way too soon to be hearing those back-to-school advertisements in New Jersey.

Think about this for a moment. Schools got out later in June and the summer break is only about a month in by mid-July. And yet, some retailers simply can't wait to jump the gun and start pushing the backpack and notebook sales.

In fact, the earliest ads I heard this summer aired around the Fourth of July. Really? Independence day is only about two to three weeks into summer break, and we're already trying to make sales on that?

My kids didn't even start their summer camp yet on July 4 and commercials for back to school were already airing. I just don't get why some retailers feel the need to rush the seasons every single year. It's like when we start seeing Christmas displays in September, or Halloween pop-up stores in August. It's just way too soon to be talking about a return to school when we're still in July.

Look, I get that some retailers want to be ahead of the competition. But can we please hold up a little longer and let the kids and staff enjoy their time off? We're not even completely halfway through with summer break yet, so please give all of us a break from thinking about school until we get closer to the start of the new year.

And yes, many schools across the country start in August. For those regions, advertising back to school now makes sense.

A lot of those regions also started their summer breaks in May, so they're rounding the final stretch of their time off. But those who didn't get out until later in June aren't ready yet to start thinking about homework and books anytime soon.

Once we get into August, then go right ahead and have at it. but until then, please do us a favor and hold up on the back-to-school ads for the time being. After all, there are still plenty of sunflower fields to check out before summer comes to a close.