Get Your Child One of These Great Lunch Boxes and Backpacks to Take Back to School – CNET
Get Your Child One of These Great Lunch Boxes and Backpacks to Take Back to School - CNET
With school starting all around the US in just a few short months, making sure your child has a fun backpack and lunch box is now a priority before they start. A good backpack will last your child the whole year if you’re lucky, and lunch boxes are more important than ever.
Lunch boxes have come a long way since I was a kid. I used to have a metal Transformers tin — I’m old, don’t judge — but while it kept my lunch together, it also made it warm and a little gross. These new-style lunch boxes, though, keep your child’s food fresh and delicious all day. Lunch is one of the most important meals for a child as it helps wake them up after a morning of studying and gives them the energy to face the rest of the day.
Backpacks are another essential for every student, whether they’re 5 or 35. Having a good bag to hold your laptop, notes, pens and pencils, and having one that’s comfy and sturdy, makes your scholastic year easier to deal with.
Best lunch boxes
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Gone are the days of sending your child to school with a warm tuna sandwich and dry chips. This new trend of bento-style lunch boxes has made school lunches something to look forward to. My daughter loves hers, as it means she can have different, smaller snacks, as well as a nice dip to eat them with.
Sometimes she’ll have carrots and celery with a delicious ranch dip. Most of the time though, she gets a chocolate sauce with strawberries and oranges. It’s easy to clean, too, and completely dishwasher safe, making it perfect for everyday use.
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Not all students are young and need bright colors. If you’re an older high schooler or a mature student, you may want to bring your lunch in something a little more sophisticated. This stackable bento box comes with a cutlery set and separate compartments for more adult food, like SpaghettiOs, Dino-Nuggies and… maybe leftovers? I don’t know what grown-ups eat, I’m a man-baby who loves baked beans on toast.
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While the Amersun is a fairly standard-looking lunch box it does have a few nice features. I love the front pocket, which can be used to store things separately from the food. My kids use it to store the dirty cutlery so it doesn’t make a mess over all their snacks. The insulated main pocket is spacious and, if you use a freezer block, will keep your food cool well into lunchtime.
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All of these lunch boxes so far have had some kind of insulation that will allow them to hold temperature well. This four-pack of reusable icepacks can be used to help keep food cool, and because there are four. you’ll always have one ready when you need it.
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Having to buy hundreds of Ziploc-style bags irritates me. I don’t like how much waste they produce, and I don’t like how much they cost. These reusable silicone zip bags save both money and, because they can be washed clean, plastic too.
I was initially worried the seal wouldn’t be as good as on a standard bag, but it works great and keeps my kids’ food fresh all day.