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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to make my dc eat healthy cereals for breakfast????

236 replies

icancount · 20/04/2012 11:41

Apparently EVERYONE else has chocolate type breakfast cereals.

Mine have to have things like shreddies/weetabix/cornflakes/rice crisps etc etc. They are allowed honey on it.
During school holidays they choose their own cereals (frosties, coco pops type stuff)
Am I a horrible mother?

OP posts:
Treblesallround · 20/04/2012 11:43

I used to try this. Now they have what they want. Not worth the hassle IMHO, and putting honey on healthier stuff wipes out any advantage as it's still sugar. I'm probably a bit pathetic, but I've decided it's part of the small stuff.

Notinmykitchen · 20/04/2012 11:43

If you are I am too. DS gets chocolate type cereals when we go camping. The rest of the time it is a choice of porridge, weetabix etc with fruit, (raisins or blueberries) on it.

lecce · 20/04/2012 11:47

I must be horrible too, then. Mine get porridge, weetabix or museli type things - all with fresh fruit. They have granola at the weekends. On Christmas Eve I but one of those multi-pack things and they have that for the next few days until it has finished. I would allow other stuff occasionally but that's it. I know from experience in RL and on here that that is considered ridiculously strict by many though...

BlueFergie · 20/04/2012 11:50

If you are I am even worse. I don't even buy the frosties/ coco pop stuff. Except at Christmas and even they are the mini packs.
Cornflakes and krispies are the treat cereals in this house. School days it is weetabix/ shreddies or ready brek.

Beanbagz · 20/04/2012 11:52

Not EVERYONE has chocolate cereal. My DCs aren't allowed it during the week and to be fair they rarely choose to eat it at weekends. They have a weetabix with a sprinkling of flakes on the top every day.

If you're a horrible mum then so am I!

deliciousdevilwoman · 20/04/2012 11:53

I don't think it's "ridiculously strict" at all. DD has porridge, weetabix, rice crispies or no added sugar muesli, and that's about it. It's not a blanket ban-I just don't plan on introducing sugar laden cereals to her. I didn't with my grown up DTS's, and they weren't deprived.

savoycabbage · 20/04/2012 11:53

If Blue is worse than you, I am worse than her!

Mine don't even know coco pops et al exist. They don't see adverts (ruined with iplayer etc) and they have weetabix, porridge or toast.

Dancergirl · 20/04/2012 11:56

I try and keep to the healthy(ish) ones too. Special K (dd1 loves the red berries one), cheerios and dd2 loves the choc chip mini weetabix. I know they've got choc chips in but don't think they're too bad compared to others.

Coco pops etc are a treat if we're on holiday.

WorraLiberty · 20/04/2012 11:56

I feed mine cat litter

It's tastier than museli and a bit cheaper

Finocchio · 20/04/2012 11:58

Mine don't get any cereals with higher than 20% sugar content, except for a special occasion or on holiday or at someone else's house. So no cocopops, frosties, sugar pops. They only get to put sugar or syrup on porridge not on other cereals. Or they can have toast or eggs.

Luckily they don't think I'm horrible for this but I don't really care if they do, I think healthy eating habits matter and I'm not going to cave easily.

StealthPolarBear · 20/04/2012 11:58

At home mine get porridge, weetabix, raisin wheats, rice crispies. With the odd bowl of chocolate weetabix or choc porridge at weekend.
Then he told me he was having frosties every day at breakfast club. I explained that while I didn't mind every once on a while, I'd prefer he didn't have them every day. The teacher told me the next day he proudly said "I'm having these as my mummy doesn't like me to have frosties" , while carrying a huge bowl of coco pops!

designerbaby · 20/04/2012 11:59

Mine don't like coco-pops. I tried to offer them as a weekend treat, but they were tasted and rejected in favour of weetabix and porridge.

My children are weird and I strongly suspect they are Not Related To Me.

On the upside, it meant I got to eat all the coco-pops, having 'forgotten' to mention their presence to DH.

Now, where did I leave my waist?

Grin

db
Xx

StealthPolarBear · 20/04/2012 12:00

I don't think its strict. Porridge and weetaix are sweet enough without honey or sugar. Raisin wheats also sweet.

marshmallowpies · 20/04/2012 12:03

I used to have coco pops or crunchy nut cornflakes only as a treat at birthdays & when visiting grandparents (variety packs of course!) but weirdly even though they were denied to me on a regular basis I haven't rebelled as an adult: the only 2 cereals I like now are muesli & porridge!

The thought of eating crunchy nut cornflakes now makes my teeth itch! Hasn't stopped me liking pain au chocolat or pancakes with syrup for breakfast though, so I still have a sweet tooth...just not for cereal. Very odd.

Can't stand weetabix or shredded wheat, though, & was made to eat those as a child often enough...

MrsHeffley · 20/04/2012 12:14

To be honest if they're having honey on top of the sugar contained corn flakes etc there surely can't be much in it.

SodoffBaldrick · 20/04/2012 12:15

Jaysus - Cheerios, Special K and choc chip weetbix are considered healthy?!

I have been anally-retentive stressing over nothing...

HipHopOpotomus · 20/04/2012 12:15

Cornflakes & rice crispies aren't really 'healthy'

lecce · 20/04/2012 12:16

Yes, i knew the museli would cause derision Grin. Ds likes it - he does- will often choose it over the other options. I said museli 'thing' though because we get nice ones with dried fruit/flakes etc.

WorraLiberty · 20/04/2012 12:16

What sort of utter monster would make a child eat Weetabix without sugar on? Shock

I don't think I could do that if I was about to starve to death Grin

janelikesjam · 20/04/2012 12:19

Icancount, this is what I do! "Healthy" cereals normally, give him more free choice in the holidays.

Do agree cornfalkes and rice crispies are not especially healthy though, though to be honest don't think many are!

My son won't eat porridge anymore, so its granola, branflakes or grapenuts usually.

BTW, it really bugs me that Kelloggs etc keep introducing more and more unhealthy cereals for kids.

headfairy · 20/04/2012 12:20

I think you're being a bit disingenious OP, firstly shreddies, cornflakes, weetabix and rice crispies all have masses of sugar in them anyway so to think they are healthier than other cereals is wrong, secondly if you then put honey on those cereals you're adding more sugar anyway. Sugar is sugar, no matter what form it's in. If you really want them to avoid sugar in the morning give them a boiled egg or something.

TroublesomeEx · 20/04/2012 12:20

OP you're not as mean as me!

Porridge, weetabix, shredded wheat for cereal or scrambled egg on wholemeal toast followed by fruit in our house!

Cheerios, rice krispies and cornflakes are not healthy.

I bought a box of Frosties as a camping treat a few years ago. It got rejected in absolute disgust for being too sweet. Gotta love 'em!

fedupwithdeployment · 20/04/2012 12:21

My DSs eat porridge, branflakes, weetabix, museli during the week. No sugar.
And then toast - usually with marmite (yuck) or jam.

At weekends cocopops are sometimes on offer but not always eaten. they do like cooked breakfast then though!

YANBU!!

returnvisit · 20/04/2012 12:24

Those so called " healthy" cereals are high in sugar and not healthy at all.
Best to give porridge, whole grain toast , boiled eggs etc

AKMD · 20/04/2012 12:29

Is there such a thing as a healthy breakfast cereal? I thought the reason they were enhanced with XYZ vitamins and minerals was because their nutritional content was otherwise so poor Confused

Wholegrain toast, porrdige with a sliced banana, homemade muesli with nuts, seeds and fresh fruit, boiled eggs, all served with a glass of fruit juice, are far better options.