How to label baby bottles and clothes?
July 21, 2012 6:32 PM

Tips for labeling baby items for daycare.

Our daycare is asking us to label all our son's items. Bottles, bibs, blankets, extra clothes, etc. What's the best way to do this? Products you love or hate? Expert tips or tricks?
posted by HMSSM to Human Relations (20 answers total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
Mabel's Labels are awesome. They have a variety pack for clothes, things that go through the dishwasher, etc.
posted by ambrosia at 6:37 PM on July 21, 2012


Similar: Oliver's Labels
posted by judith at 6:53 PM on July 21, 2012


We loved the Bumpy Name labels for bottles. Still use them, any time they need something labeled for school.

For the bottles we had to put the date on both the cap and the bottle as well; we used scotch tape and sharpies. We tried one of those label makers but they don't handle sterilization very well.
posted by tigerjade at 6:55 PM on July 21, 2012


Sharpies for the win. In addition, I got in the habit of writing love notes on my son's diaper before changing him and bringing him in to daycare.
posted by plinth at 7:03 PM on July 21, 2012


Seconding Mabel's Labels. I also have a cheap labeller I got at Staples, which I also use (iron on and stick on). The Mabel's Lables last forever, but the cheap ones I make are okay when I don't need the label to stand up to wear and tear.

Tip from a friend...Set up an email address with your child's name. THen use that as the label. If something gets lost, people can contact you AND they know who it belongs to. (Less of a problem at daycare - good for schools and stuff you might lose in the community.) With the labels I make with my own machine, I put on name, email and phone.

Paint pens (from Elmer's - and the grown up kind, not kids art supplies) are awesome for writing on things too.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 7:03 PM on July 21, 2012


Mabels Labels for clothes, for other stuff label maker. Other brands < Mabels.
posted by k8t at 7:20 PM on July 21, 2012


A DYMO label maker will get this done. You can customize your own text on the labels. DYMO makes a variety of label tapes: iron-on, plastic, clear and colors.
posted by Andy's Gross Wart at 7:23 PM on July 21, 2012


We use Inchbug's mini rectangle labels and I am a big fan. They are narrow enough that we can use them for just about anything (bottles, bottle-tops, pacifiers, toys- even his musical seahorse) and have gone through the dishwasher countless times without ever coming loose.

(Inchbug also makes clothing labels, though I have only used the mini-ones so far)
posted by saucy at 7:42 PM on July 21, 2012


Low tech, but Sharpies and masking tape. You can use the rubber label bands for cups (as everyone at our daycare shops at the same place for cups), but everything else, it's more about getting the caregivers used to which item belongs to which kid. Once they know that, the label becomes less important and therefore you don't need to break the bank on them.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:52 PM on July 21, 2012


Sharpies and electrical tape works well for us.
posted by dawkins_7 at 8:39 PM on July 21, 2012


We use these and these; they were great for bottles and now we use them for sippy cups.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 4:34 AM on July 22, 2012


Yeah, we always used Sharpies and tape. In fact, now that we're into the years of summer camp, we still do.
posted by Andrhia at 7:48 AM on July 22, 2012


Sharpies and Scotch paper tape have gotten us though 3 years of day care and counting. Why pay more? Kids are expensive enough as it is...
posted by caution live frogs at 8:27 AM on July 22, 2012


Iron-on mending tape and Sharpies for anything fabric.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:26 AM on July 22, 2012


Sharpie Industrial are what you need for anything that's going through a dishwasher repeatedly.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:06 AM on July 22, 2012


another shout for Mabel's Labels - they really are bomb proof. I've labeled water bottles, lunch bags, rubbermaid containers, shoes, swimsuits, towels, toys, backpacks, coats, underwear... I think the only thing I haven't labeled are the kids themselves. And socks. I don't bother labeling socks.

I bought one of their combo packs last summer and we still have some left. They seemed expensive at the time, but as they've lasted so long (and the labels never come off, not in dishwasher or washing machine), I now think they're pretty good value.
posted by hms71 at 10:14 AM on July 22, 2012


we used tape and sharpies. Masking tape for some things, duck tape for some things, directly on labels/seams for clothing.
posted by dpx.mfx at 11:27 AM on July 22, 2012


Another vote for industrial Sharpies. Marks anything, never comes off.
posted by anastasiav at 12:14 PM on July 22, 2012


We use Mabel's Labels (as do so many others) and Name Bubbles. They're both fine.

Advice:
1. Labels will fall off from time to time, particularly for items that get run through the dishwasher a lot e.g. lids of food containers, so keep an eye on that.

2. I leave a sheet of labels at day care so when I drop my daughter off if I realise something doesn't have a label I can tack it on there and then.
posted by NailsTheCat at 9:23 PM on July 22, 2012


Just put in an order for Mabel's lables. Thanks for the help metafilter!
posted by HMSSM at 10:23 PM on July 23, 2012


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