DH thinks rice crispies are a suitable breakfast

[thisismyheart]

That's it really, DH would happily send children (3&6) off to school/childminder on one bowl of rice crispies and a bit of fruit in the morning. I feel very strongly about filling kids tummies properly before school, and while i have no problem with a bowl of rice crispies now and then, that they are ultimately just puffs of air, and the children need something more nutritionally dense.

We argued about it properly this morning, and now he's in a huff about me undermining him. I just want to guage what others think - is a bowl of rice crispies and a bit of fruit enough to keep a child's energy levels up all morning?

*arent

It's fine for a young kid. It gives then a boost and wakes them up.

Sounds fine. There are obviously more nutritionally balanced options, but this is a good go to for a quick easy breakfast that kids like. If they want something else, give them something else. I think you are out of line having a go at your dh for it though.

8p a portion

How cheap do you want a breakfast to be!!!!

I'd start a row with you too if I were him

I think you need to relax a bit and stop undermining your husband and trying to control / supervise him. He's doing his part, he doesnt need you to micro manage how he does it. Rice crispies foe breakfast are fine....Im assuming theyre not getting McDonalds for lunch and KFC for dinner.

...which is exactly what I've just spooned into 12 yo DS's mouth before his special school transport picked him up. Some days I'm lucky if I get half a bowl of rice crispies or Little Os into him. And minus the fruit, though he'll have some at school later. He eats like a bird with an eating disorder and takes about 40 minutes to consume breakfast. I've long since quashed my concern that rice crispies are a bit insubstantial - he eats them, I'll take that. There isn't a lot he WILL eat.

OP, something tells me you don't know you're born.

And why on earth have a food you regard as substandard in the cupboard if you don't think it's fit for purpose? Though if it's your DH who buys them in, he's the other parent of your children and presumably able to make nutrition decisions too. Cereals like rice crispies are maybe over-processed, often over-sugared, but also fortified. They're really not that bad for you.

Yes, mine only ever have a bowl of cereal before school, the only time they ever eat a larger breakfast is on the weekends.

I’ve one kid that eats an enormous amount for breakfast (if allowed) and is very skinny.

The other kid pretty much has half a bowl of rice crispies and nothing else and I’ve come to accept that. She’s not underweight, she gets a snack at school at 10am or something, doesn’t complain about being hungry and seems to be doing just fine. She just isn’t into breakfast.

I used to battle with porridge and toast and all sorts on a morning, now I save my energy and my money and just accept it is what it is.

They offer it on hospitals to adults :)

Calm down. It’s Rice Krispies, not cocaine. Millions of people have cereal for breakfast. Yes, they have sugar. So do yoghurts (unless you feed them natural yoghurt), fruit, crumpets, bread, etc. etc. They’re not mainlining Mars Bars and I’m sure they have an overall balanced diet.

Do your kids like the cereal and fruit? Do they eat it and not complain of debilitating hunger during the brief few hours till mid morning snack or lunch?

well they aren't good for gut health if they are topped up with sucralose and acesulfamate k (and are not allowed in food for young children either)

What was a typical breakfast before the argument with your DH ? Presumably given to them by you ?

It's just cereal 🤷. If you don't want them to have rice crispies don't buy them. Our kids like to mix cereals together, they always have weetabix and then add a sprinkle of shreddies/kelloggs multigrain shapes (stars)/cheerios or sometimes a sprinkle of honey nut (my husband buys them, i'm not keen given they are just sugar!). Enough to keep them going for a couple of hours.

No wonder kids are fat these days, how many calories do you think a small child needs? Our kids have toast and milk at 10am, lunch at 12 and another snack at 2pm. They come home and eat again once home too. Ours don't go longer than 2 hours without food, they are 7 and 5. It'd be different if they had nothing until 1pm but this isn't the case in any school.

If it makes you feel better OP, not that there's anything wrong with cereal, I've just ate a pack of jam tarts for breakfast.

I'm not keen on any cereal except Weetabix as they're so sugary but my DC have the choice of a cereal alongside Weetabix, porridge, toast, eggs, yogurts, fruit sometimes pancakes or croissants. As long as they have a mix of those and not cereal everyday I'm fine with it. However, cereal everyday is completely normal for many people.

Get a grip, especially with some fruit this is healthy breakfast. As your children get older there will be far greater issues to tackle.

Rice Krispies wouldn't be my choice because they are basically lacking in fibre and nutrition and when I have them myself I always feel they are really quickly digested and you feel hungry soon after.

I would prefer porridge, wheeetabix or other wholegrain cereal, wholemeal toast, peanut butter, eggs, baked beans, pancakes, oatcakes, etc. for my child and myself.

"...found its way to the cereal aisle.' 😂

There may be a reason for that, OP. It being pretty universally acknowledged as a breakfast cereal? Come on. It's not the 'chocolate frosted sugar bombs' beloved of Calvin, is it? It's a plain and fairly unornamented grain cereal.

Maybe add some protein. One of mine got told off for saying they had plain yoghurt for breakfast and told they should have had cereal - teacher obviously hadn't heard about sugar slumps

My OH's diabetic nurse is happy with him eating them for breakfast, he seems to like these over anything else although does eat porridge in the winter at times

Cereal fans, have you ever weighed a serving? Most people have a double serving by instinct, I think. So the salt/sugar content is likely to be twice what you think you're having.

I’m a nutritionist and the answer is no, it’s not adequate. Your children need protein and fat to keep them fuelled for play and learning. Cereal comes under the umbrella of ultra-processed foods, which are bad for every aspect of health and linked with long-term health issues like obesity, T1 diabetes and heart disease later in life. They’ve clearly managed to do some very clever marketing since so many parents seem to believe they are a healthy option.

Obviously it’s fine to have a bowl of sugary cereal from time to time but it isn’t an adequate every day breakfast. Anything with a sugar content over 10% is considered ‘high’. Sugar puffs contain 22% sugar. A 100g portion of sugar puffs would exceed the NHS recommended daily limit for sugar intake in a child under 10.

Can't see the problem. It's literally a breakfast cereal.