@lunchboxdad: I bought 5 back-to-school lunchboxes so you don’t have to guess which one is actually worth your money! I went to Aldi, Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target, bought a lunchbox from each, packed them, and tested them. And there were some BIG differences. We have been shopping for lunchboxes for over 15 years. I also went through customer reviews to see if other parents were noticing the same things I was. Here are my reviews: ALDI: 4/5 ⭐ Price: $5.99 Seal and latch: 4/5 (I would hand wash it) Container: 5/5 (good pockets) but no accessories come with it. The smaller capacity is better for younger kids/smaller appetites Cute design but we don’t think it would last all school year WALMART: 4.5/5 ⭐ Price: $8.97 Seal and latch: 4/5 Container and accessories: 4/5 Deceptively roomy and easy to clean Most customizable layout and easy to open AMAZON: 5/5 ⭐ Price: $13.99 Seal and latch: 5/5 Container and accessories: 4/5 The individual compartments are NOT completely sealed from each other We think that for price this Bento box was the best value and might last the longest COSTCO: 4.5/5 ⭐ Price: $19.99 Seal and latch: 3/5 Container and accessories: 5/5 The tradeoff: It’s larger and bulkier We’ve bought this for our kids for years because of the ice pack and thermal lunchbox case TARGET: 3/5 ⭐ Price: $9.60 Seal and latch: 3/5 (warped in dishwasher) Size: 4/5 Containers and accessories: 4/5 Some reviews say their kids struggle with the latches We would skip this one because of the durability issues we experienced And my biggest tip after testing all five? Have your child open AND close the lunchbox themselves before you buy it. Seriously. You’d be surprised how many lunchbox latches can be difficult for younger kids—and the coolest lunchbox in the world isn’t very useful if they can’t get into it at lunchtime. 😬 Which one would you choose? And if your family already has a lunchbox you LOVE, drop it in the comments so other parents can check it out too! #BackToSchool #SchoolLunch #LunchIdeas #CapCut
