The Best... Backpacks for Preschoolers

August 14, 10:30 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Backpacks are an essential back to school item for kids of all ages, even preschoolers getting ready to make their school debut. But it's hard to find backpacks that are proportionate to preschoolers. The ones I've seen in most stores swallow up Ava (who is two and a half, but the size of all the 3 year olds in her gymnastics class) and are really bulky. Too big for her to carry.

That is, until I came across the Blabla backpacks at Oompa.com. These are the cutest packs. They come in butterfly, ladybug, tiger, dog, kitty, giraffes, piggy, koala, and frog. They're a little pricier than your average pack at about $43 but they're high quality and will last you well through their elementary, even junior high/middle school years. To me you need to splurge a little on one special back to school item, especially for their first adventure in school. What better item than a backpack that is used every day.

The Blabla backpack is made out of 100% natural cotton, is machine washable, and has one zippered fully-lined pocket. They're handmade in Peru by local artisans (paid with fair trade wages).

We tested out the friendly butterfly style backpack. (See photo, left.) I honestly had a really hard time deciding which one of the 11 cute styles was the best. But Ava's love of the fluttery creatures and the variety of colors of the butterfly made the decision for me. When I opened up the shipping box and Ava saw the pack she started jumping up and down shouting "Butterfly! Butterfly!" She couldn't't wait to put it on. It fit her really well, but did occasionally slip off her shoulders as she raced around.

I wondered with its small size, how much could I pack in there? The answer: an average size pencil case filled with a pack of flip top washable markers, an Honest Kids juice pouch, a granola bar, and a bag of Mrs. May's freeze dried pear slices (see photo, right). All things I would send with my kids to preschool. You could use this backpack as a lunch bag if you wanted.

I would recommend the Blabla backpacks for preschoolers. They would also be great for kindergartners. Older kids need to carry around homework, so they're too small for that. But elementary, junior high, and middle school girls would be the hit of the party with one of these as a purse.

Other preschool-sized backpacks worth a mention:

DanteBeatrix Little Kid Backpacks ($38, dantebeatrix.com) - From bees to dinosaurs and sharks to penguins, DanteBeatrix has some cute little packs for kids 2-5 years old. They have padded backpanels and padded handles.

My Sweet Dreams Baby Personalized Toddler Backpacks - ($25 + $10 for personalization, mysweetdreamsbaby.com) A little less chic but still cute and with the bonus of being personalized, these are great toddler packs. They come in a variety of designs from a bike to frogs to stars. They also have matching lunchboxes ($18.95 + $10 for personalization) that you can personalize too.