Skip the Bentgo Kids. Get a Yumbox.

The Yumbox is the best toddler lunch box because its single front latch is easy for small thumbs to open but snaps shut tight enough to survive a backpack. The wildly popular Bentgo Kids is the one to avoid — its two side clips are stiff enough that most 2- and 3-year-olds can’t open them on their own.

The Yumbox latch is a simple flip-toggle in the middle. It takes a deliberate little push, so it doesn’t pop open when the box gets tossed around, but it’s genuinely doable for toddler hands. The trays are also divided into compartments, which means you don’t have to wrestle with silicone cupcake liners to keep foods separate.

If you want to spend less, the Munchkin Lunch Bento is a decent second choice — same single-latch idea, slightly cheaper build. Lunchbots metal boxes work too if you get the version with the sliding latch, but they leak if anything is wet.

One real caveat: the Yumbox isn’t leakproof for runny liquids like soup, and the latch is the one thing that can break after a few months of abuse. Treat it like a lunch box, not a toy, and it’ll last through preschool.

Get the Yumbox, teach your kid where the latch is, and let them practice before school starts. Future mornings you will thank yourself.