Q: My son has entered the age of taking his own lunch to school. I know he's too shy to ask the teachers for help, so I need to send things in packages he can open by himself (you can see I messed up today by sending a mandarin orange cup that he can't open solo). Unfortunately, the only thing I can think of for wrapping his sandwich or grapes or pretzels is... plastic zip top bags. I would love some suggestions for less wasteful food wraps that a nearly-five-year-old can open on his own. Perhaps -- dreaming big here -- even drink containers, too? And how about a lunchbox to put it all in? We're using an actual metal lunchbox, but it's on the small side and non-insulated.
Sent by Carrie
Editor: As a child I can remember repeatedly having to bring my soup thermos to Mr. Roby's classroom because neither I nor my teacher could open it so I can relate to this. You want things secure enough to keep the food in one place, but easy enough for young kids to open - readers, what do you use that works well?
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We love reuseable sandwich/snack bags. A friend of mine sells on Etsy (creATEmeMOM) and my four year old has no trouble opening the velcro sealed bags. We also use lots of metal containers (check amazon). Some have plastc lids and are hard to open; others are metal lids. My 4 year old can open both though. For drinks, how about a leak proof straw cup (thermos) or just a water bottle with a screw on lid. Good luck!
Yes those reusable snack bags with velcro, great for opening and also for being earth friendly. If you have to have disposable, buy those earth bags that are made of wax paper. You just roll them closed. And you can definitely find tupperware with latches, which I think are easier for kids. GL.
Our kids use the Klip-In Lunch Cube -- and it is simple to open. We do not buy individually portioned foods, so it allows us give them a variety in the 3-compartments. After-school snacks tend to go into smaller containers or reusable snack pouches.
The editor's note reminded me of similar childhood memories -- and we just purchased a thermos food jar for our son to try to bring warm mac'n'cheese. I'm hoping he'll be more successful!
Good luck!
We used the PlanetBox luch box this year for our kindergartener. It is a little bit pricey, but so easy to clean, and he loves it. I love that I don't have to keep track of fiddly lids in the tupperware drawer.
The sections don't seal, but you can buy canisters with a seal that fit inside for messy stuff.
http://www.planetbox.com/
For drinks, we used the platypus. It's best for water, but we've found we can keep it clean after other drinks by boiling the parts.
http://casanovasadventures.com/catalog/water/p318.htm
You can buy insulated lunch bags at many stores. Places like Gap, Old Navy, and Children's Place have really cute ones. We use a variety of plastic containers (like Tupperware) for snacks, and for drink, which is always water, we use stainless steel water bottles. The rubbermaid brand juice box also works well, and it's compact.
the small lock-n-lock containers are great. they hold about the same amount as the mandarain cup you've pictured, they don't leak, and they have tabs that are easy to open, even for small hands (or very tired adults).
It can be so challenging trying to pack my son's lunch as he has a similar issue with opening packets without the whole lot ending up all over him or the floor.
Have you seen the "Goodbyn Boxes?" It's like a bento box but has several built in boxes within to keep foods separate. My son loves that he could personalise it with all different stickers. Plus, it's all in one, so easy to clean.
http://www.kidsen.co.uk/products/Goodbyn-Lunchboxes.html
I really like www.easylunchboxes.com which we use inside crocodile creek lunchboxes. They have three compartments- one for a sandwich/meal and two smaller ones for snacks. However, because they are easy-open, they are not leak-proof to hold something like your mandarin orange cup. But, my kids get a sandwich or leftovers, some fruit, and a couple animal crackers in their boxes and it works well.
http://www.wrapnmat.com/ ... sandwich wraps and snack pouches. We have been using them for the last 2 school years. Also the rubber main snap locks are easier to open for little hands
I love Kinderville's storage jars for packing my son's lunch for daycare. He's only 1 year old and can open and close them on his own. I initially got them for homemade baby food but now we use them for items like oatmeal, mandarine oranges, yogurt, applesauce, ect. It saves a lot of money being able to buy these items in bulk instead of the little single serving packages. They are made from silicone so they are microwave and dishwasher safe as well.
I re-use baby food jars and the little jar pine nuts come in for saucy items or cut fruit. The lids are leak-proof, but my 5 year old can re-open them. I've also re-used a loose-leaf tea tin for carrots, snap peas, etc, that aren't juicy. Or, if I'm packing crackers or something really dry, I'll use a Tupperware, but fold wax paper over the top and hold with a (clean) hair twisty instead of using the lid. I also wrap sandwiches in wax paper and fold it closed.
There's a brand of applesauce that comes in little green pouches with yellow caps, meant to be eaten without a spoon. My daughter can get the cap off by herself and LOVES the applesauce. I keep it on had for those days I'm out of fresh fruit. I keep mini raisin boxes on hand for the same reason and she can open those, too.
Goodbyn lunchboxes are great. You don't need to put anything in bags since the lunchbox has individual sections that all seal separately by one lid. It also comes with a drink bottle. Plus, they can be personalized by your child with stickers!
http://www.goodbyn.com/
I have a laptop lunch bento box. I love the bento box style, but my daughter age 4 cannot open it by herself. Just a warning.
I second the recommendation for the planetbox. We went through a lot of different lunchboxes before we found that one. It's very easy for a young child to open and close on their own and there are no lids to get lost.
We had a Goodbyn but my 5 year old had trouble getting the lid to seal back on tightly and we had a laptop lunch box and he had trouble getting the tops off that one.
All great ideas. I'm trying to be a little less wasteful this coming up year and will probably buy a reusable sandwich wrap this upcoming year. But just in case you do use prepackaged food in a pinch, I try to open it a little first to make it easier for my son. This might get messy with mandarin oranges though! Also, I've had him practice opening his reusable containers at home before he takes them to school.
I use lunchskins for sandwiches & snacks like pretzels. For things like cut-up fruit, I use the Glad Mini round containers. I'd rather use stainless steel ones (like from Kids Konserve), but I find them more difficult to open.
I love the Built neoprene lunch bags. They are a good size, lightweight, machine washable, and can flex to fit contents. The zipper is easy to work (my 2 yr-old can open). I see on their website they now have an insulated version. The one bummer is their designs tend to be feminine.
For drinks, could he use a SIGG? They come in different sizes, LOTS of styles, and two tops (oversized twist top and sport top), which are fairly easy.
brightbin.com is also a great choice for all in one options
I like the preserve screw top jars. They are really easy to open, but would not open on their own, great for your oranges.
For most stuff I find our LunchBots tins work great.
I also love our reusable bags, particularly the lunch skins ones.
For drinks would something like a camel bottle where you only have to flip up the straw top work?
I do not recommend Goodbyn at all. It was hard to close, hard to open, hard to reclose.
I recommend going with a bento box. I've been using them for my kids' lunches for four years now. They're easy for kids to open and they save a ton of packaging waste from the landfill. You *don't* have to make them super fancy like you'll see on a lot of the bento sites.
We had the same issue. We now use lock & lock containers (or dollar-store knock-offs). They're watertight, and my daughter has been able to open them since the age of 2. These are the only containers she's been able to open without sending the contents flying.
For drinks, I second (or third?) the suggestion of the Rubbermaid juice box. Also leakproof and easy to open.
Planet box for sure! Easy to open, insulated, zero waste. We use a flip top easy open insulated beverage container with it from Thermos. My son could open all of it at age 4 and is thrilled to have his own, now that he is 5.
Carrie here. Thank you all so very much! These are fantastic ideas -- I knew you all would have the best tips. I'm having a good time exploring all these different options. My son will have a much better lunch kit in no time. I kind of wish I had somewhere to take my lunch so I could get a nifty lunch kit, too!
One question on the Planet Box. Is it heavy once you load it up with lunch? The website says it's 19 ounces, and that's empty.
"Re-usies" is a brand made in Seattle that are pretty great for reusable, velcro sandwich bags and snack bags. There are also "wrap mats" for sandwiches.
My 2 kids (3 and 5) both have a Yubo lunchbox. Containers made for the box make packing easy, and they are easy to open. I love it.
my kids are not yet school age, but when they are snack ready, I plan on using Itzy Ritzy snack bags. I also noticed that the site babyhalfoff.com has reusable bpa free compartmental lunch boxes for half off today that you might to check out!
Hi Carrie - that is the one downside of the planetbox - it is a little bit heavy when it is loaded up. My (string-bean) five year old had no problem with it in his backpack for school, but it was heavier than the laptop lunch bento box we tried before the planetbox. Also, since the top flips open as one unit, it takes more space on the lunch table than most lunchboxes. Even with those two things, I still think it is a great solution.
I second Starfrit Lock&Lock containers. My 3yo son can open them very easily. We have the smaller rectangular ones which hold a sandwich and still have room on the side for fruit, crackers etc. I just wrap the sandwich in wax paper to keep everything separate. I also have the larger rectangular ones for hubby's lunch (same footprint just deeper), they both have the same size lid to keep everything sane! I've found that the little plastic Gerber babyfood boxes fit inside the smaller Lock'nLock containers perfectly to keep things like dip, yogurt etc. with minimal leakage.
These fit nicely inside our So Young Mother lunch bags, with room for other snacks in a fabric/velcro snack bag.
For drinks we have Kleen Kanteen bottles in 12oz size. 3yo has sport cap which he can open and fully close on his own, 1yo has sippy lid which is surprisingly leak resistant.
Yeah the planetbox is a bit on the heavy side, especially once you add in a full thermos too. But my son's been using his since Kindergarten without any trouble. I like that don't have to worry about any plastic chemical leaching and that it can go anywhere in the dishwasher (top or bottom).
We've used ours everyday for two years and it still looks basically brand new.
i remember seeing a great re-use idea on here a while back...... for dry goods like goldfish, PLASTIC EASTER EGGS! you may already have some, and i would imagine those would be easy for tiny hands to open!
good luck :)
The planet box is a bit heavy, but when my skinny girl started using it in kindergarten she had no problems and she had the thermos with it as well. Plus boots and snow pants in her backpack on some days. I love that I don't have to worry about lost tops of any containers plus on the few times that she has forgotten it at school, it doesn't retain all the icky smell like plastic would.