To not know what a healthy cereal for my toddler would be?

[dottytablecloth]

He's gets porridge every morning so don't suggest porridge please!

I need something to fill him on those evenings when he refuses dinner. I've not given him cereal before as I'm honestly so confused about what is relatively healthy and what isn't.

He's 20 months.

Can anyone help?

It's all pretty much sugar laden

To fill up you need to avoid sugar. What about scrambled egg and a half slice of wholemeal toast?

Weetabix and ready brek are low in sugar

Id go for some toast too.

If you have to give him something (I wouldn't but thats a whole other debate) then I would just give a slice of toast or something

Dd is 2.4 and we alternate between porridge and weetabix for breakfast.

He'll never grow out of refusing dinner if it's gets him given a bowl of sugar instead. Just sayin'.

Weetabix, Cheerios or toast are our standbys.

Lentil soup or polenta?

If he refuses dinner don't offer him cereal.... He will soon catch on

Rice crispies. They go snap crackle pop too. Oatmeal also amazing.

Mine just eats toast though tbh. Banana. Raisins. Yog. Stuff like that.

Toast....

Oh for refusing dinner?!!! Game changer. Boiled cabbage.

There are cereals with no sugar but they are hard to find. I was shocked when I realised how much sugar boring old shreddies had in them!

There are these tasty wheat curl things that have no sugar and shredded wheat (although it has a strange texture to toddlers - not like anything they've had befor iykwim)

Shreddies and cornflakes. Although cornflakes are full of salt, I prefer salt to sugar. Toast is a good bet.

Tbh I think it would be better to tackle the refusal of dinner.

Mine can have fruit or toast if they don't want dinner, but that's all they can have.

For 'pudding' when little one hasn't eaten much of his main meal I make a bowl of yoghurt (Greek/ sugar free) mixed with a spoonful of oats and some fruit. It fills little tummies and is still nutritious.

Why not try not giving him anything, if he refuses dinner. With my 2, they sometimes refuse dinner, and I'm sure they simply aren't hungry. And they still sleep fine at night. I think some children just have v different food needs than an adult. By 20 mths, I.was offering.healthy, appropriate food at mealtimes, and some snacks between, but never offering alternatives if they didn't eat.

Don't know about "healthy" but low-sugar cereals we buy tend to be weetabix, shredded wheat, rice crisps (value ones have less sugar than branded) and shreddies.

At that age if DS didn't eat dinner he had a banana and some plain greek yoghurt for pudding.

Shredded wheat has a strange texture to me. As a child, I was convinced that it was actual miniature hay bales, like the pictures on the packet.

I'm still not convinced that it's anything else. It's revolting.

But no, unless dinner was refused because of illness, I wouldn't offer cereal. If he's an habitual meal refuser, stick to the bulk of the meal being something he will eat, with only about 1/4-1/2 of it being something less favoured or new and untrusted.

I often worry that there is more nutritional value in cereal packaging than contents. I don't touch the stuff and hate that the DC do.

A banana? I know it's not a cereal but why a cereal?

Weetabix here. Ds has it quite often for tea when he refuses dinner because of teething.

I understand those saying not to give anything but imo a toddler is too young, especially if it's because of teething etc. I would rather he went to bed on a Weetabix and warm milk and let us all have some sleep!

Weetabix is always a safe bet.

Shredded wheat is healthy but vile.

Just seen that this isn't for breakfast. There must be something else that he will eat that isn't cereal? Eggs are a good source of protein.