A chilled lunch box / bag for nursery…

[puffysthename]

…Can anyone recommend a good one for a 2.5 year old boy? The array of choice is mind boggling. At the nursery they encourage them to operate their own lunch box, feed themselves etc. Not sure if one with lots of compartments is good or not. Thank you for any good suggestions / links 🙏

We tried some different ones before we found the one working for us/our children. I think it's a bit learning by doing.

I’d get a box with compartments and an insulated bag you can pop an ice pack in with it.

https://www.rexlondon.com/wild-wonders-lunch-box-tray

https://www.rexlondon.com/insulated-lunch-bag-farmyard

Lots of options or you could look for an insulated back pack.

Why does it need to be chilled? We take packed lunches out all the time and ive never thought about it needing to be chilled. Just use a Tupperware you already have

Oh maybe it doesn’t need to be chilled 🤔 I just thought a meat or fish sandwich, for example, would need to be kept cold.

Thanks, 🙏

Nurseries can get very warm I’d want to chill it depends on contents.

I use an ice pack which obv helps keep the food chilled but stops bacteria also.
nurseries can be really warm

I use a dinosaur lunch bag, and put in it a bento box with a penguin ice pack :)
Sometimes in colder weather little one wants soemthing hot so use a thermos flask and a smaller bento box for fruit etc. and can still put in penguin to keep the cold items cool while the hot food stays warm in the thermos flask

Whether it needs chilling or not might depend on the storage system at nursery. Does the box stay in their bag or get taken somewhere ready for lunch time?

It’ll also depend on their start time. A child starting at 9 will probably be fine but a child starting at 7.30 might need it chilled as the food is in the box longer.

Choosing a box that is easy for them to manage independently as possible is the key thing. Staff will be happy to open the main box but with lots of children to care for they might not get back to open lots of small extra boxes as quickly. Also consider if you want a savoury and a ‘pudding’ compartment. Most staff will encourage the main savoury part to be eaten first.

Update yourself on current fruit preparation guidelines. Not all nurseries will be allowed to let them have fruit that isn’t cut in the right way due to safety guidelines and not all will have time to prep the fruit in a lunch box for several children.

Id say a basic Tupperware is fine (with or without a chiller cube) and the easiest to manage.

DD has the Rex insulated bag linked above (well, two of them, so if one needs a more intensive clean I’m not scrambling to get it done overnight) and then these little snack pots instead of a big lunch. She doesn’t eat “normal” sandwiches so these are big enough for a wrap cut into 2 or 3 sections, or a few pieces of milk roll which is her bread of choice. She can open them easily, and I find them more useful on her non-packed lunch days when I can use them for snacks when we’re out and about.

We also have a few of the little insulated food pots from Aldi for pasta etc on miserable days, and the smaller pots mean I can add in some snacks alongside the insulated pot. Definitely help him to practise opening it by himself - we did picnic lunches for a few weeks before DD started so she could do the zip herself, and knew how to open the pots. Label everything, including the lids.

Ion8 insulated water bottles are excellent, too.

Go for the one with his favourite character on it. They all do the same job.