There are lots of kid cereals out there containing absurd amounts of sugar and sodium.
If you’re not going to take care of your own health, that’s one thing.
You’re a grown adult and you can make your own decisions.
But when you’re giving your kids a choice between Froot Loops and Cocoa Pebbles in the morning for breakfast, I have to question your intelligence.
Not only are you loading your child up with artificial flavors and colorings (read: poisons)…
But you’re also giving them absurd amounts of sugar and sodium in levels that even adult cereals don’t have.
Add that to the fact that you’re not helping your kids know the difference between food that’s good for them and “junk food” and it’s a recipe for a life of health problems including diabetes and obesity.
Just take a look at some of these stats:
When kids are offered sweetened cereals at breakfast, they eat twice as much as they should, but when they are given low-sugar brands, they consume the appropriate serving size, according to a new study.
Cereals with the poorest nutrition ratings that are advertised to kids:
1. Reese’s Puffs
2. Corn Pops
3. Lucky Charms
4. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
5. Cap’n Crunch (tied)
6. Trix
7. Froot Loops (tied)
8. Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles (tied)
9. Cocoa Puffs
10. Cookie Crisp
Are any of those cereals in your cupboards?
If so, you’re giving your kids some of the worst cereal on the planet.
When I was a kid, we were allowed one sugary cereal A YEAR.
Each year for our birthday we’d take a special trip to the cereal aisle where we could get any cereal we wanted. (I always chose Fruity Pebbles – # 7 on the list above. Yikes!)
My mom knew the dangers of sugary cereal even back in the 80’s, that’s why we only ate it once a year.
Every other morning, my brother and sister and I were eating Cheerios, Rice Chex, Total, or Rice Krispies…and loving them! Also toast, bagels, and english muffins.
The thing of it is, if you don’t buy the sugary cereals for your kids, they’ll wind up eating something else. They can enjoy Cheerios or Corn Flakes. And if they whine about it in the beginning, it’s okay. They’ll get over it and soon they’ll be eating something healthier for breakfast.
I’m really passionate about health and especially the health of children. So I’m going to challenge you.
When you go to the grocery store next time – DO NOT buy any of the sugary cereals from that list above.
Instead go for cereals like:
- Cheerios (Plain. Not Honey Nut)
- Rice Krispies
- Rice Chex
- Rice Puffs
- Corn Flakes (Not frosted)
- Total
- Wheaties
- Oatmeal (Not the instant kind with tons of flavors already in it.)
And if your kids like a little extra something in their cereal, go for frozen or fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries. Even banana can be sliced up and put on cereal. (I especially loved banana on Cheerios.)
So are you up for the challenge?
Leave a comment for me and let me know what kind of cereal you bought instead of the sugary cereal. You can do it!
Kids’ cereals: 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber than adults’ [USA Today]
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