Probably been done before but what is the best / healthiest breakfast cereal for toddlers?

[columbolover]

Currently giving ds (17mo) cow and gate muesli, but so expensive!
He won't eat weetabix or ready brek, and I want him to have something reasonably healthy, but they all just seem so full of sugar / salt -though the muesli is quite sugary too.
Can I just try him with rice crispies or cornflakes, or wholewheat cheerios maybe?
Will continue with the C & G if I have to.
Many thanks in advance

tut tut! Just read which report. Can't believe the sugar content of those cereals. And if they're not high in sugar they've made that up with salt! Even Shreddies have lots of sugar!

Right, ds is going to like porridge again, and will grow to love weetabix! Have just remembered that when I gave him "baby" porridge I pureed blueberries or mashed some banana to go with it. Why did I stop this?! He was perfectly happy with purple porridge

My Ds usually has weetabix or porridge followed by a banana or a yoghurt....definately his best meal of the day!

I've seen puffed wheat - which is like sugar puffs but kind of tasteless - I presume then no sugar.
I was thinking of mixing that with normal sugar puffs - which ds loves.

Sorry franch, I'm a slow typer!

Check the which report out - I think the weetabix was not too bad in terms of sugar, certainly not one of the worst offenders

Tracy - ds gets eggy bread at weekend, my dh loves making it for him!

Good idea tracy

I tried to give my two 'good' cereals when they were teeny but they just never ate them.

Now I have a general rule of not buying anything with over 20g sugar and around 0.6g salt per 100g so it rules out the really bad ones but at least they can have cereal that tastes alright!

I do eggy bread most days - cos it can be taken and eaten in the car when we're running late. Also variation is cheese dreams which is a cheese sarnie soaked in the egg and made the same as eggy bread.

Yes columbo you're right I think weetabix is fairly low sugar - but not sugar-free

Shredded wheat AND bitesize are 100% wholewheat - nothing added. Like others, I'd say my absolute number 1 choice is porridge - for me and the DDs. Slow-release energy, keeps you going for hours - we love ours with puree or blueberries, plus some flaked almonds for a bit of crunch

DS loves porridge, especially with raisins in. Have to make it thick enough to eat with his fingers though! He's had cheerios as finger food to practice incer grip since quite early, will eat rice krispies, shreddies, cornflakes if he thinka he's eating my breakfast! Doesn't give weetabix the time of day!
I watch the salt content but mind less about the sugar as won't get hugely over sweetened ones like frosties, and they use the energy - hence full fay milk, or so I thought

porridge (oats) with banana and cinnamon.
dd (2) loves to make it up with me - she won't eat bananas as they come but has no probs putting them in her porridge to eat

I agree with Yorky. Sugar (and fat) is fuel for toddlers - it is the ones that are noticabley high in sugar (or chocolate!) to taste that encourage them to develop a sweet (or choc) tooth, that then make it difficult to avoid in the much longer term. After all once you have tasted a coco rock packed with flavour (as a child) are you really going to accept plain 'boring' rice crispies in the future without a fight? So I would always go for cornflakes over frosties, rice crispies over coco pops etc. Obviously flavour and sweetness can be added - as has been suggested with fruit etc.

Sugar doesn't harm a child in the same way as salt, its effects can be controlled by regular brushing of teeth. Salt is much more important to monitor and can be much more damaging to health.

If porridge isn't liked, then homemade muesli is fab. Just oats and raisins is what we call muesli, though obviously you can make it more interesting if you want :-)

I wish DS would eat porridge. He simply refuses to be spoon-fed anything and that 'leaving the porridge to set' thing never seems to work for me.

my two have porridge with a bit of honey most mornings and either rice krispies or corn flakes as a treat when they're a bit bored of porridge and want a change (or when i'm having a lie in as dp can't make porridge)

tinkjon, how old is your ds? my ds has been self feeding himself porridge with a spoon since about 18 months, he gets covered in it but it's remarkably easy to brush of him with a wet cloth and he's getting gradually better at getting it into his mouth with less spillage.