Water bottle for reception

[schoolahead]

Sorry if this has been done to death, but could I have your recommendations for a water bottle? My sons primary says each child is to bring a reusable water bottle with them when they start in September. I don't want to spend a fortune in case it gets lost or broken but I want a decent enough one to last a little while!

We have Sistema twist n sip. No straws to get manky and cheap enough to have one for each day. On offer in supermarkets around this time of year.

Dd is moving to year 3 and apparently needs something cooler for next year though.

Haha love it 😆 thanks @mogtheexcellent I know the kind, I shall have a look out for them

I second the Sistema twist n sip ones, my son is in yr4 and still uses them. They go through the dishwasher fine too

I work in a school, and would advise you avoid the hard plastic ones. They inevitably get dropped and crack. Sistema ones are perfect.

I would advise buying several. My DS is in reception and has already lost one and broken one. We have 2 sistema twist and sip at the moment.

Also general advice for reception: LABEL EVERYTHING!

Thanks everyone! I have just bought some stikins so will pop one on his bottles too 👍🏻

Supermarkets sell £1 ones when they get the back to school stuff in shortly

My kids use the insulated kleen kanteen ones with sports caps. They don't like room temperature water and these keep water cool for hours. They've been bashed around a lot but we've had them for 4 years now and have replaced the lids once in that time.

We used the twisty sistema ones for a few years until one fell apart and it was full of mould! We swapped to Ion8 ones from Amazon and they've been amazing. They come in different sizes and colours. Haven't broken one yet in 5 years of using them!

I have a few Tinc bottles which are very good. They are easy to keep clean and don’t leak .

My dd loves the Ion8 ones. Lots of colours, good quality and easy to clean.

I prefer something where the bit you out your lips on is covered by a lid as reception kids are pretty germy... We have one of the Ion8 ones mentioned above and it's done well

you put your lips on...

We have thermos hydration ones which were about £5.

School had a long list of requirements* for bottles, and this fit the bill.

• less than 400ml
• clear / opaque
• straw cap
• leak proof
• plastic / shatter proof

It was like looking for the holy grail.

Oh we have brought many water bottles. Along with hair clips we seem to have gone through loads of them in reception. A lot of the flip lid ones break quite easily and if you have a chewer straws don’t seem to last long. We’re now onto hard plastic straw type things and seem a bit more durable. Definitely get a spare because it’s really easy for them to go missing. I’d like a Kleen kanteen one but the website says the sports caps aren’t leak proof which put me off.

My dc has a camelbak one. The designs can be quite rare so can't be mistaken for someone else's, it's lasted 2 years+. The only problem is if they chew the mouthpiece, they are prohibitively expensive.

I bought Sistema ones at first but stopped as you can't clean them properly. I now have a selection of plastic ones but when they are worn out will let the boys take in metal ones (they are old enough that spillage isn't such as issue, for reception I would def get a plastic one with a straw so its not a disaster if/when they get knocked over). In my son's school they have to refill them themselves so check they can get the lid off and back on securely.

We’ve had posh and cheap ones but the twist n sip sistema ones (which come in different sizes) are the best I’ve found.

Anything with loose parts - like the straw in the camelback, or a a lid which flips - is likely to get lost or break.

And imagine it getting dropped on the floor several times a week.

As someone who works in a school, pretty pretty please not a metal one! The sound they make falling off their desks is horrendous!

I would say as a bare minimum something they can open to drink by themselves (like the twist n sip ones which have already been mentioned) so they don't have to ask an adult for help every time they want a drink. In an ideal world, also something they can take the lid off to refill themselves, but I get that in reception they all might struggle with that.

A well labelled systema twist and sip (like nearly everyone has already said). The hard plastic ones tend to break easy, and screw top metal bottles can be quite difficult and heavy for little hands to open by themselves.

We get the £1 o we from b and m with my DD initial on.

The cheap ones from supermarket or b+m/home bargains.

Hmm, joining the small minority with a metal bottle here 😂 DS has a One Green Bottle one with a sports cap (doesn't leak). Not cheap but in five years of school (plus weekends and holiday childcare etc) I think he's only gone through two bottles plus one extra cap so it feels decent value to me. I wasn't keen on buying or using avoidable plastic.

Would also recommend the sistema ones. They’ve also changed the lid style recently so that you can take the twisty lid apart when necessary for cleaning (not at risk of being done by little hands though - needs running under a hot tap first!)