Sugary Cereals

[Jessica at Parenting.com]

Have you seen this recent study of kids' cereals?

Kids' Cereals: Some Are 50% Sugar (http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20081001/kids-cereals-some-are-50-percent-sugar)

From the article:

"Cereal can be a great choice for a quick and nutritious breakfast, but some choices represent the nutritional equivalent of a doughnut in a bowl, according to a new investigation from Consumer Reports.

The group evaluated 27 of the breakfast cereals that are most heavily marketed to children, considering not just their sugar content, but also the amount of sodium, fiber, calories, and nutrients in a recommended serving."


One of the worst?


"A serving of Honey Smacks has 15 grams of sugar -- 3 more grams than is found in a Dunkin’ Donuts glazed doughnut."


And the best?


"Cheerios (General Mills), with just 1 gram of sugar, 3 grams of fiber, and 190 milligrams of sodium."


What kinds of cereal do you have in your house?

[gostomskiart]

We have cherrios but i wish I had Honey Smacks (love them!!)

[MommaC]

Right now we have Cheerios, Kix, and Kashi Go Lean Crunch. (My husband and I LOVE naughty cereals, so we usually hide a box of Lucky Charms/Reece's Puffs/Cinnamon Toast Crunch to have for desserts.)

[Liana]

Cheerios (plain) is a staple at our house. Although I think our older daughter (almost 3) is getting tired of it; especially when she sees Mommy and Daddy eating different cereals (e.g., Honey Bunches of Oats, Cracklin' Oat Bran).

[craftyashley]

What I want to know is why these people thought it was a revelation! Of course Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms are super sugary! They do put that "whole grains" label on some of them- but are they really fooling anybody? I think the study should have been titled- "Idiot people think sugary cereals are healthy!"
We do Cheerios, regular, honey nut (I know a bit more sugar, but it's a treat), and multigrain. Sometimes I give them Raisin Bran.

[ra11en]

Cheerios, Trix, Fruit Loops, Barbie, Cocoa Puffs, and Reeses are all in my pantry. I love cereal as a snack right before bed time. My DD doesn't have cereal for breakfast, but I will let her snack on her Barbie or Fruit Loops or Cheerios later in the day. She's had cheerios for breakfast twice in her life (she's 2). I prefer to make oatmeal, eggs/bacon, pankcakes, fresh fruit, etc. for her breakfast.

[rayasmom]

My pediatrician recommended them when my first son was about 2 years old. They come in three different flavor--maple, cinnamon, and I can't remember the other one. They also seem to like the Chex cereals. I've done a pretty good job of staying away from the sugary cereals--pure garbage!

[EVsMom]

I'm normally a Frosted Flakes fan but admittedly it is drowning in sugar (yum!) so I've resorted to Special K varieties to get my flake-fix. Most are lower in sugar and good too when they come with fruit or nuts. Evie is fascinated with the odd texture of the flakes so it's working. Raisin Bran works too since she can eat raisins now and is into the flakes. Obviously plain and honey nut Cherrios are staples in my house too. Always managed to avoid the Lucky Charms and Froot Loops types, I mean really, nothing those colors can be healthy.

[librabell]

when we go to the supermarket we buy 1 box of cherrios, 1 box of kix and 1 box of sugary crap

of course the girls always eat the sugar first, but we won't buy another one until they've eaten all the cherrios and kix

[Jill_at_StorkRadio]

love the kashi too but it all has a decent amount of sugar

[Claudirug]

I don't like giving these cereals to my kids, they love them especially the chocolate ones. So we made a rule that the kids have porridge on school days, i.e. Monday to Friday. To make it taste a little better for them I add a some blueberrys which I cook in the porridge so that they burst and release their flavor.

Then I allow the kids to have their favorite cereals on Saturday and Sunday.

[wright1212]

We mostly only get WIC cereals so sugar crap is rare, even then its mostly a dessert at bedtime. I love the multigrain Cheerios- there just a bit sweeter so yummy. I love breakfast so we cook alot- especially big southern breakfast on weekends (think Cracker Barrel or Shoneys).
BUT on the doughnut issue- a doughnut is better than most cereals- at least when it comes to diabetes. While preg and gestational diabetes I could eat 2 doughnuts or 1/2 cup of the healthiest cereal with only 1/4 cup soy milk!!!! PLUS with cereal we tend to eat 2x or 3x the serving size. Try measuring it out one day and compare to what is normally eaten!!
ON the other side of things- its better to go overboard on breakfast since you have all day to burn calories- but worse to eat alot of bad stuff at night. The biggest problem is the lack of protein in the morning leaves you feeling sooo hungry just a couple of hours later- most kids dont get snack so by lunch they are weak- brain is not functioning- then they PIG OUT at lunch on more bad stuff!! (we have nutrition issues in the country)

[NaomiK]

To be totally honest, we dont buy cereal. My daughter has yogurt and fruit for breakfast. IF my MIL brings some over (she is always buying her junk) then I will give a handful as a snack. When I shop, I try to steer clear of the middle isles if possible.

[mbenit4]

I have given my daughter Cheerios as a snack when she was 2 but I never gave her cereal for breakfast to date and she will be 5 in November.