In our own lifetimes in the U.S., we’ve seen bento boxes go from a dish we ordered at Japanese restaurants when we couldn’t decide what to get to a trendy Instagram obsession. Of course, bento boxes go back almost a 1,000 years in Japan, when people used them to carry rice on the go. That test of time is enough to make parents consider these convenient and cute-as-hell compartmentalized lunch boxes when considering how to pack food for our kids to take to school.
This school year, we anticipate that when we do send our kids to school, we’ll probably be sending them with their own lunches most of the time. Though school lunch will likely still be a thing, many of us will prefer this for our own piece of mind. Children may also prefer it for the same reasons they always do: Because moms and dads can pack the things they like to eat, not just the things the school district deems nutritious and expedient to serve. And if you wind up doing this, packing bento boxes for kids is one more way to turn a necessity into something fun.
Most of us are far too practical — see also: unskilled and busy — to be able to art-direct our children’s daily meals into Instagram-worthy works of food art. That does not rule out making their lunches aesthetically pleasing, however, thanks to the many bento boxes available to buy right now.
There are so many other advantages, other than sheer beauty, that bento boxes have over brown-bag lunches or traditional lunch boxes. For one thing, they’re reusable. In the place of brown bags and the many plastic sandwich and snack bags one normally packs into one, you have compartments built into the boxes as well as removable containers into which you can pack every element of a meal. In those compartments, the food is also protected from being smushed and from leaking all over your child’s backpack.
Usually, depending on the material you choose, bento boxes are also dishwasher safe. This avoids that dingy, slightly smelly quality cloth kids lunchboxes often acquire about three days into the school year.
Now that you’re convinced of bento box superiority, your only remaining task is a pleasurable one: choosing the right bento box for your child. Do you want an all-in-one box to avoid losing individual pieces? Or would you prefer the flexibility of interchangeable compartments? Do you like a traditional metal, a colorful plastic or silicone, or a combination? Should you spring for something slightly more expensive because it looks so darn cool? Or should you opt for a simpler bento box and get two or three, for meal-prep purposes? And do you get one with rocket ships or unicorns? Or solid classic colors, because these boxes will last for multiple schoolyears, well past your child’s current taste in decor? These are the kinds of dilemmas we actually enjoy pondering.
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Here are some of the chicest bento boxes for kids we could find.
Bamboo Melamine Bento
How can a bento box look so French? These boxes aren’t exactly rugged or leakproof, so maybe save them for older kids who can take good care of them.
Munchkin Bento Box
This little bento is so adorable and simple, you might mistake it for a toy. It has five built-in compartments and comes with stainless-steel utensils that snap into the box.
Modern Kids Bento Box
This box introduces a minimalist Dutch aesthetic to the mix. Place the smaller container inside the larger one, or use them separately.
Grow Bento
The concept behind this bento box is that it’s great for when your baby’s slurping baby food, when your toddler’s munching Cheerios, and when your big kid just wants you to pack a PB&J. We also love how those silicone pods look like Trivial Pursuit pieces when they fit snuggly into the stainless steel box.
PB Kids Spencer Glitter Bento
Tell me, did ever a bunch of baby carrots look so special as they do in this box? There is a kid who is extra enough to need this bento box, and we love them for it.
PB Kids Spencer Stainless Sandwich Box
This isn’t a full bento box but we couldn’t resist showing you how beautiful a simple sandwich box could be. Rose gold stainless steel has met its intended purpose.
OmieBox
This box is as attractive as it is efficient and sturdy. We love that it comes with an insulated thermos for hot or cold dishes.
MONKA Bento Box
The bamboo lid and stacking black boxes of this bento call to mind the Japanese tradition from which it comes. When you pair it with a thermos and a neoprene bag, however, it’s up-to-date and super useful.
Skip Hop Lunch Kit
This isn’t so much a bento as it is two bento-like containers that can fit into a Skip Hop lunch bag. If this design makes you feel like you’re feeding your child dog food, you can opt for the monkey model instead.
Floral Bento
You can skip all those fancy brands and head straight to a kids brand you know and love for your lunch box needs. Because of course Cat & Jack has a bento box.
La Boite à Bento
These colorful transparent bentos are only as attractive as the food you place inside their four built-in compartments. In which case, maybe avoid anything brown and mushy?
Tiffin Lunchbox
Travel south from Japan, and you’ll find this other version of the portable meal kit, the tiffin lunch box, in much of southeast Asia. This hammered metal style isn’t quite suitable for young kids, but stylish teenage foodies can definitely handle it.
Yumbox
Did you go to a tiny food market in Paris to purchase your child’s food, or does it just look that way? These little boxes are intended to fit inside a standard lunchbox.
LunchBots Bento
You can serve food directly into this large, stainless-steel bento, or insert smaller containers. We’ll just say that you have fewer dishes to wash if you do the former (and it’s dishwasher-safe).
Bentgo Kids
For some kids, you want as few things to break or lose as possible. These all-in-one boxes are leak-proof and durable, while still being rather pretty.
Bento Colors
You probably can’t go wrong with anything from Bento & Co, but we’re particularly drawn to this aptly named colorful line. The boxes stack vertically and slide in and out, with a side lid that snaps shut securely.
Monbento
This box is equal parts lunch box and one of those makeup kits all the girls wanted when I was in junior high. That means I want it for myself as much as I’d get it for my kid.
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