****MN Jury purlease**** A Cocopops question

[oliveoil]

Rightyho:

MIL has dd1 and dd2 for the 3 days I work, I try to be relaxed about what she feeds them as my take on it is that is what grandparents are for, ie sweets & crips etc.

For breakfast I give them 'good' cereals such as Weetabix or some foul things from Tesco's called Wheat Puffs - like Sugar Puffs but without the sugar - so you can imagine they tasts of f all!

Anyway, they came home last week waffling on about Cocopop Crunch or something and now refuse to eat my cereal as it is "wubbish" (dd2).

So. Do I mention the removal of the nice cereal to MIL or let it lie? It is only for 3 days BUT it is having an effect (affect?) the rest of the week.

What is in these Cocopop things sugar wise? They sound minging.

Thank you!

xx

they are mingin olive

dh takes our dd's to his dads on a sunday for breakfast, and he gives them shitey cereals too

i have compromised and i give them their usual shreddies with a handful of cocopops on the top

Iiwy I would ask her to give them their normal cereal and reserve cocopops for an after dinner treat. Not unreasonable as they have about as much sugar in them as a dessert.

Given it's affecting the rest of the week, I'd have a word with MIL. Say what you said here -- that you think part of what grandparents are for is feeding kids things the parents won't let them have, but that DDs are now refusing to eat cereal at home, so could she try something that's a bit more halfway house between wood chippings and sugar frosted chocolate bombs (or whatever)?

Tackling the other end of the issue, how would your DDs feel about a healthy muesli, or healthy cereal with banana or berries added, or at least something that, while good for them, can't justifiably be described as foul? (May well not be a flier I know my DS would just pick out the fruit but depends on your DDs)

They are minging - my dses have them at the ILs (we only go once in a blue moon though). Full of sugar and they turn the milk brown . If this is going to be an ongoing thing then I think I'd probably gently suggest an alternative cereal (can you buy some and take it?) For mine - I just say "nah, you get that at Grandma's but I'm not buying it - here have your tasty cardboardy pops instead."

Tell MIL that they (dc's) will be easier to manage if they are not pumped up on sugar and additives.

Just so happens I have a mini box here:

Per 100g they have

380 cal
80g carbs of which 34g sugars
3.5g fat of which 2g saturates
3.5g fibre
0.4g sodium (1g salt)
Vitamins: B1 B2 Niacin B6 Folic acid B12 (all 85% RDA)
Minerals: Calcium, Iron (both 55% RDA)

Looking at it, I'd say they were pretty high in fat & sugar (sugar is 2nd ingredient on list followed by chocolate & glucose syrup)

I think dh may broach the subject as it is easier coming from him

dd1 has a nut allergy so anything like muesli is out as she flares up

They sometimes have Cheerios at home which I don't mind as much, but cocopops just seem like a mouthful of chocolate, brown milk like you say, blurrrrrghhh

also cocopops not only turn the milk brown, but also the front of their pyjamas

I have similar mil probs but luckily she lives 80 miles away

Coco Pops are only just this side of toxic waste.

MIL is not necessarily a bad person, in her day it was quite normal to give kids athinks like Cocop pops which are a wiches brew of sugar, e numbers, sugar, salt,sugar, chocolate and sugar.

About the only good things I can say about Coco pops is that they are low in fat and aren't visibly radioactive.

(Did I mention there's a lot of sugar ?)
According to this site they are 39% sugar.

There are also the truly awful Coco Pops straws.

I'm surprised they are legal, My guess is that the reason we never found Saddam's chemical weapons in Iraq was that he'd sold them to Kelloggs to put into childrens cereal.

I'm pretty sure cocopops have the highest sugar content of all cereal and my kids don't get them. Like you, I don't really like them having them elsewhere because, while I know it's not going to kill them to have them on the odd occasion, it then leads to them going on about them and bugging me to buy them!

Easier all round if they just don't have them and if I were in your position, I'd ask her to give them x, y or z of your choice.

I would go with the marthamoo solution - "That's grandma cereal - here we have nice healthy woodchips". How about adding strawberries to the woodchips? Or a sprinkling of hundred and thousands - my clever mother's solution to lots of eating problems. Whatever you do, don't do anything that will affect the delicate balancing act that grandmaternal often is!

Steady on there Domini love, deep breaths!

She also gives dd1 Fruit & Fibre bars which imo are just like a Marsbar.

My tongue has a dint from biting it!

My childrens favourite song for ages was "Id rather have a bowl of Cocopops" from the adverts.

They are banned in our house too, needless to say. Ive bought them a couple of times, so that the children dont feel deprived, but now, I just say no, and the children dont miss them that much.

I am currently having these cereal problems with another fabulously expensive cereal, which has free toy cars in the pack. Cheap wholewheat cereals are being rejected, "Mummy theres nothing to eat in the house" grrrrr

I used to love cocopops but was never allowed them. They were like the holy grail of cereals. Even the sight of a box would send me into bliss.

My MIL gave my DD (2 at the time) jelly for breakfast - because she asked for it

I remember when we went to Wales for the weekend and we got a Variety pack for a treat and I have never tasted so much sugary crap IN MY LIFE. And I speak as someone with a very sweet tooth.

Vile things.

Just a quick hijack - what about Shreddies? HOw good/bad are they (not cocoa shreddies)?

I almost laughed out loud (in a despairing way) when saw that advert for those coco straw things for the first time. I mean you literally might as well give kids a mars bar for breakfast.

I think shreddies are ok but no doubt someone will disagree with me.

I'm sure that as long as you approach MIL tactfully (something along the lines of "please don't think I am criticising, because you're a great grandma and we are so grateful to you for having them, but there's just this one thing.....etc), then she'll be fine about it.

...and yes cocopops really are on a par with turkey twizzlers (although at least they've got iron in them I guess)

I think shreddies are fine (don't think they have much added sugar and they are a wholewheat breakfast) - but sadly I have had to stop giving them to ds (2.5) because it fills his poo's with trillions of flaky bits (I kid you not!) which are a devil to wipe off his bottom. Takes about 10 wipes. Sorry tmi

I'll just scurry off feeling like a shit mother cause I didn't think they were THAT bad

very tricky dilemma if your MIL is providing childcare for free, i just say to my dds that it is ok in grandmas house but at home we do it this way....IMO very little children soon understand htere are different rules in different houses. don't get drawn in to a discussion with your MIl or your girls on this ( it always amazes me how much a 6 year old can argue a point) and in hte end aslong as hte rest of their diet is good is it really the end of the world if they have cocopops 3 dasy a week ??? ( ps i love htem can i go to your MIL for brekkie? )

Oh dear!

There's more to mothering than what breakfast cereal you give them

Thanks for all the responses, I may leave it a while and see how things pan out, she is a great grandma and MIL and I don't want to rock the boat, BUT will see how things go.

x

OO, cocopops are a bowl full of sugary rubbish, the only good thing about them is the milk you pour on them. However, given the whopping great favour your MIL is doing, I'd tread carefully. Could you just take a box of their own normal cereal & ask her to just feed them it & ask if she could give them cocopops as a treat just one morning.