Teachers' warning about $15 Aldi school item: 'These look good but don't work'

The start of a new school year is not far off, which means thousands of Aussie parents are desperately trying to get organised with their back-to-school shopping. From bags and shoes to stationary, hats, drink bottles and more, the cost can really add up!

For parents on a budget (or who simply realise that everything they buy is destined to be destroyed on the playground anyway), places like Aldi offer great, inexpensive options. The budget grocery chain sells backpacks, workbooks and even some of the electronics that kids might need when returning to school, with plenty of these Special Buys on sale now.

However, not all of the items have been getting rave reviews with one school essential in particular coming with a warning from shoppers and teachers alike.

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One parent asked members of a popular Facebook group to provide feedback on the Crofton and Hoopla bento boxes available at Aldi for just $14.99.

"Hey mums, thoughts on these lunch boxes?" she asked. "Are they air tight/sealed? Are they durable if dropped? Any other pros/cons? Thanks!"

Aldi shoppers complain about bento boxes

Fellow shoppers came to the comment section with words of warning about the product, sharing their own disappointing experiences.

"We have the first one, the lid already broke after 1 week," one person said. "Tried to fix it as it is hard to find replacement. Good size but quality is not very ideal."

"I personally do not like the Bento lunch box," another added. "I purchased one last year for my daughter and the lid broke within a month."

"I bought both of these for my prep student last year," yet another added. "The bigger bento lunchbox part of the lid broke very quickly and the hoopla one is very hard to open (even for myself) my preppy couldn’t open it at all. Otherwise, both would have been great lunchboxes"

"It seals well but mine didn’t last long at all. Got it personalised and everything," someone else said.

Teacher's warning about bento lunchboxes

Aside from the fact some customers had a negative experience with the bento boxes, it was a couple of teachers who came to the comments with a different reason why these types of lunchboxes might not be the way to go.

"As a teacher a negative with this style is if your child drops their lunch box they drop all their food not just a sandwich or fruit etc if packed in containers individually," one commenter explained.

"I was coming to say the same thing, teacher here too," another jumped in. "As a teacher, these look good but don't work well.

- if they drop it they lose all their food."

- if they don't finish and want to take it with them, they have to cart the whole lunch box around at playtime, often meaning they choose to leave their food and play instead.

They continued, "Better options are individual containers in a lunch bag that way they can just have the bits they need out and keep the rest safe until they want it."

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"My son is in year 2 and I pack things into containers and then into a lunch box," another reasoned. "If he drops the lunch box no issues. If he opens something and drops it it is only that thing so he can eat something else from his lunch box and not be left with no food. Accidents happen, kids stepping through other kids to grab something they forgot, kids bumping others who are walking with an open lunch box. Also if they continue to eat in the playground after eating time all their food goes. For me, I pack sandwich etc in nude food containers or sandwich bags."

Alternatives to Crofton and Hoopla bento boxes

Other parents suggested that another brand available in Aldi's back-to-school Special Buys was a better alternative, such as one mum who wrote, "I'd just pay a little more and get the Bbox mini. My kindy kid used her all year, great size, easy to open and close. Tough. Dishwasher friendly. And if anything does break you can buy spare parts."

"We got the Hoopla Bento lunch box last year. It did hold up fairly good but my child found it really hard to open and close. The section sizes were a little awkward too as some sections are very small. We've found Bbox to be the best so far."

"Personally I'd spend a bit more and get a Bbox lunch box we've been using them for 3+ years," another person chimed in. "They're super easy to open, you can buy replacement parts if something breaks. I've replaced one lid the entire time."

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