How much cereal is OK?

[mustnotgrumble]

My 13 yo boy is always hungry (very tall and slim, sporty) I let him have cereal for breakfast and before bed too if he wants it and sometimes after school for a snack. I don't buy any cereal which has over 20g/100g sugar. My DH thinks its too much sugary cereal. DS doesn't eat well at school but has a cooked from scratch family supper every day, and snacks on everything, fruit and raw vegetables included. How much is too much, mners? thanks!

You can get and app that tells you how much sugar a day kids should be having.

Think it's the change for life one.

What cereal does he eat? What about something like porridge or weetabix, might be more filling and have much less sugar

I believe a child over 11 should have a maximum of 7 sugar cubes or 30g a day. But each to their own Op.

It being 20% sugar is a lot, certainly not something I would be encouraging and probably not going to be the most filling of foods for a hungry child

I think three bowls is too much along with fruit, veg and his main meals.

Have you considered preparing him some boiled eggs maybe with some ham as a snack?

My teen sporty girl was similar, people thought it was odd that we swapped to her just having sausages or bacon, for breakfast, but it worked, hunger wise for her.

Teenage boys have been mass eating cereal since it was invented. It's like oxygen for them, that and sandwiches.

Since he otherwise has a good diet, just don't give him the really sugary or chocolately crap and don't worry about it.

We're mostly vegetarian at home - processed meat is considered a cancer risking no -no by the WHO btw. He has weetabix with choc chips( 18g/100) cornflakes or rice krispies and very low sugar granola. Fruit and veg he likes but they don't fill him up. Plus I don't like him having wheat all the time - so don't always offer toast ( which he prefers with jam anyway - I just cant win!) We have a lot of pasta, rice and mash etc. What else could I give? Help!

processed meat is considered a cancer risking no -no by the WHO btw

That really isn't what the WHO said. Thats what the newspaper headlines said that the WHO said, which is not at all the same thing.

Ds1 eats 2 bowls most mornings and sometimes a bowl before bed. He's 8 and never stops moving. I buy weetabix, shreddies or Cheerios.

Make flapjacks? If you use a lot less butter, and mashed banana and a little bit of honey instead of refined sugar, they're essentially baked porridge.

Vegetarian protein - cheese, yoghurt, nuts, seeds, peanut butter, lentils, beans, tofu, quorn....

It depends on portion sizes. Most people have way more than the 30g portions.

I don't really like cereal but whenever I do eat it I find I am really hungry again after about an hour. I don't think it is good for keeping you full.

I don't find cereal filling at all. No wonder he's hungry.

I'm a veggie, try cheese, whole meal toast, unsalted nuts (I love cashews), beans on toast, wheetabix without the chocolate would be better.

Three bowls is an awful lot on top of other meals.

My 13 year old would live off cereal if I let him. He has a large (and I mean large) bowl at breakfast, plus wholemeal toast, and sometimes a bowl at night. I tend to buy bran flakes or rice krispies or weetabix to reduce the sugar content (he won't eat porridge), but tbh I don't worry too much apart from that - he is very slender and not the world's best eater, and at least cereal contains added vitamins and is eaten with milk.

what cereal?

porridge, muesli weetabix etc - probably not an issue.
cereal bars, special k, stuff with cartoons on - more sugar than anyone needs.

Give the cereal with full fat milk (if you aren't already?)

Give him cheese, nuts and hard boiled eggs as well?

Better cereals are whole grain ones without too much added sugar eg. muesli, bran flakes, shredded wheat/raisin wheats. Cornflakes and rice krispies are not as good.

Don't see why you wouldn't give him wheat - nothing wrong with that unless he has a gluten intolerance

A dietitian I spoke to said that anything with 5% sugar is low sugar, anything higher and certainly over 10% is high sugar.

You need to think about how much he is eating. The sugar limit ( if there is such a thing) for adults is 6 teaspoons a day which is 30 grams.

If he has 100 grams of cereal then that is 20 grams sugar, so he's probably eating far too much sugar if you then add up sugar in sauces, puddings, sweets, etc etc.

rice krispies or weetabix to reduce the sugar content (he won't eat porridge), but tbh I don't worry too much apart from that - he is very slender and not the world's best eater, and at least cereal contains added vitamins and is eaten with milk

I think you will find that Rice Krispies have a lot of sugar.

Being slim is not really the issue- you are helping him become addicted to sweet foods, his teeth will suffer and they now think that furred up arteries are a result of refined carbs, not fats. The vitamins in cereal is a bit irrelevant-he'd be better getting them from fruit and veg than those added to processed foods full of sugar.

My brother and I lived off cereal, always had a bowl once home from school, then had our tea and possibly another bowl before bed. Never thought of it as too much, both healthy as adults so no bad affects. I don't really have any advice I still eat loads of cereal now at 27, I love it

Yes and weetabix does contain sugar so not as low as you think. Shredded wheat is much better, no added sugar at all.

I think he needs more protein! A pp mentioned some vegetarian protein options that you could offer and because protein takes longer to digest, it will satisfy him more.

Alongside that, I see nothing wrong with cereal as a snack. Teens want something quick and easy and if it wasn't cereal, he would probably be reaching for crisps and biscuits.
Porridge is amazingly filling, can be made in the microwave and practically anything can be chucked in it for extra flavour..cinnamon, berries, honey, nuts, raisins..

Do you let him eat meat away from the house, at friends or (dare I mention) McDonald's?

I must admit I find it odd that you don't like him eating much wheat or deadly processed meat but are happy for him to eat processed cereal with high sugar content.

The recommended serving of cereal is woefully small and wouldn't fiull me up for longer than 5 mins. I enjoy a slice or two of wholemeal / seeded toast with pure nut butter (no salt or sugar) and sliced banana, it's very filling.

If you're concerned about sugar what about scrambled eggs, cheese, cold bean salad or homemade protein / flapjack bars if you watch the sugar content. Avocado, nuts, homemade soup / stew he can zap in the microwave? I'm trying to think of quick, easy to make things as I I know teens prefer grab and go foods.

Sorry, just noticed he won't eat porridge