Not to let my DD eat cereal?

[Peridotty]

My 16 month old goes to nursery 5 days a week. We pay for her breakfast, lunch and snack (included in the fee). However, I don’t like the thought of her eating cereal so we provide the breakfast and the snack. I don’t think it’s very healthy, even though it’s a wholewheat type cereal. I give her porridge made of steel cut oats instead with some applesauce. Would you be ok with feeding your kids cereal?

letsgotrilobite

MrsSkylerWhite
(And why do oats need to be cut, anyway?)
Steel cut oats are less processed than rolled oats or porridge oats. They need a longer cooking time because the pieces are bigger. They're cut because leaving the oats whole would be too big. Rolled oats are heated and pressed (rolled, I guess) to make them flat. Porridge oats are chopped up even more.“

Well, every day’s a school day

My children have eaten weetabix everyday for years, occasionally they’ll have toast or crumpets instead.

Anyone else read "applesauce" dead fast in their heads, with the emphasis on the "app"? When did it become just one word? Is cranberry sauce now cranberrysauce? Peppercornsauce? Mintsauce?

In America it is one word.

My son has Weetabix every day both at home and nursery. If it was sugary then I'd not be impressed but Weetabix is absolutely fine IMO.

OP if you're short on time try overnight oats

Soak oats in milk and yoghurt overnight, top with whatever you like eg berries and almond butter ...or applesauce. You can prep it all and just grab out the fridge in the morning.

Not tried it with steel cut oats but think it should be fine.

Bread needs strong flour, 60-70% water, 2% salt & 2% yeast.

A 500g loaf will need about 300 - 350 mls water and 10g each of salt & yeast.

No sugar required!

I usually feed mine breakfast before starting as he'll barely eat breakfast there so he usually gets museli and fruit or the like. At nursery they give weetabix or cornflakes I think. I'd be fine with that.

[quote Peridotty]@Betsyboo87 the hidden sugar and salt[/quote]
How much sugar is there in the apple sauce you prefer to give?

My skinny son loves weetabix or plain shreddies with milk!

That's the kind of nuts thing I'd have done with my firstborn!

[quote Peridotty]@Maryann1975 I think applesauce in the US is different to apple sauce in the U.K.
The one here is made of only apples and is a purée. As far as I know people don’t use it as a topping for roast pork but they do eat it with a spoon as a healthy snack.[/quote]
According to this website. The apple sauce you are using has 11g of sugar per serving. Yes it will be natural sugar but it is still sugar that has calories and can cause tooth decay. I think weetabix has less sugar.

www.fooducate.com/product/365-Everyday-Value-Organic-Unsweetened-Applesauce/F77D5558-456F-11E0-A55F-1231380C180E

@Clocktopus NHS guidelines state no added sugar for under 4s. Weetabix contains added sugar, so it (and other cereals with added sugar) are not recommended.

NHS guidelines state no added sugar for under 4s

Meanwhile, back in the real world ...

I'm struggling to imagine an NHS dietician or paediatrician having a problem with weetabix.

[quote Hopeislost]@Clocktopus NHS guidelines state no added sugar for under 4s. Weetabix contains added sugar, so it (and other cereals with added sugar) are not recommended.

[/quote]
Visions of myself as a child, eating cereal every day, and adding three or four desert spoons of sugar to the bowl. Full fat milk. Yummy. Didn't know anyone who did any different back then. Also tea with milk and lots of sugar. Actually, also often had cereal before bed as a snack as a teen as well. And, now that I think of it, a donut and a pint of milk when I came back from school for a snack. Amazing we survived really.

@TheKeatingFive In the UK 35% of 10-11 year olds and 64% of adults are overweight or obese. That's the real world we live in.

@BigWoollyJumpers Obesity kills more people than smoking does. It also makes you three times more likely to be hospitalised if you catch Covid. So no, not everyone is surviving.

Child eating cereal would be absolutely fine with me. It's cereal, porridge, toast or a crumpet here. Whatever is quick! DS has his second breakfast at nursery and I have no idea what he has.

If you're worried about sugars why are you giving her apple sauce?

There are so many different cereals and cereal brands, so the statement "I don’t like the thought of her eating cereal" is just bizarre.

Porridge is cereal. Rice is cereal. Corn is cereal.

@ClocktopusNHS guidelines state no added sugar for under 4s. Weetabix contains added sugar, so it (and other cereals with added sugar) are not recommended.

DC dietician is an NHS dietician. Their consultant is an NHS consultant. Neither of them have an issue with Weetabix, the dietician actively recommends it as a way to get fibre, b vitamins, and iron. A two-Weetabix serving (roughly 38g) only has around 1.6g of sugar and 0.1g of salt, hardly overloaded with added sugar and salt.

I'll carry on making sensible choices and taking advice from professionals, thanks.

As an FYI, the NHS England does recommend "wholewheat cereal biscuits" (aka Weetabix and off-brand equivalents), its right here on their website.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/healthy-breakfast-cereals/

Start4Life also have Weetabix based weaning recipes on their website

www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/recipes-and-meal-ideas/wheat-bisks-with-peach-fingers/

The NHS also recommends Weetabix as part of its gestational diabetes eating plans.

Weetabix are healthy and I find it weird that people think they aren't just because they have a tiny amount of sugar in them. This attitude is unhealthy.

@BigWoollyJumpers I'm not sure how old you are, but are you aware that life expectancy has risen since you were a kid? One of the reasons being better diets.

"I ate crap and I was fine" is not an argument for eating crap.

In the UK 35% of 10-11 year olds and 64% of adults are overweight or obese. That's the real world we live in.

We're not obese because of weetabix.

I mean seriously? Apply some critical thinking to this.

lol I couldn’t care less what she eats as long as she eats something😂 chocolate spread sandwhich here for brekkie this morning!

There's no such thing as 'healthy cereal' it's all just stodgy carbs, even weetabix has added sugar & salt. Oats are ok in moderation, but I'd switch up with something egg based like 'egg muffins' or yoghurt with nut butter as well.

I like Cocopops

You do realise that once they reach secondary school maybe even before they leave primary school that they will eat anything and everything good or bad, so instead of being too controlling offer all choices, yes even Coco pops within reason as a treat. Because if you don't when they do eventually discover them they will have a field day