The market for Kids cereal is HUGE – whether you turn on the television, or open a magazine or just go TO the store.
ALL of the ads you see are marketed towards your kids – as part of a balanced breakfast. Take any child to the grocery store and it is so incredibly hard to get them to stop asking FOR these cereals, because they are placed at eye level – intentionally, because manufacturers know that your kids will ask and you will cave in and buy for them.
My 9 year old is at a great age now where she has started to question advertising on products – she’s also at the age where she has been and learned how to defend herself at school when she opens her lunchbox and her friends ask her why she has something non-traditional.
It was just a few days ago that a few of her girlfriends told her at school that Raw Milk was bad for her… and she didn’t know what to say to them so she came home to ask me what she can say next time someone tells her that her food choices are poor. My first instinct was to ask my daughter “what did those girls have for lunch, Wendy?”
I’m not picking on their choice, but when they are going to pick on my daughter’s choices then you bet I will make a point of talking to my daughter.
If you check out any of the grocery ads for your stores you’ll see the focus is on kids cereals – why not? They KNOW it will sell. They know you as a parent will purchase for your kids – they know that the convenience factor is enticing for many. In a hurry before they go to school? Pour them a bowl of Trix. Forget about the health aspects, your sanity is worth more (I only say that because someone actually said that this week to me..)
Right?
The REAL nutritional value of cereals is anything but nutrition –
Kids Cereals are loaded with Genetically Modified Ingredients
MOST kids cereals include wheat, corn or soy – and as you know, most of the U.S. Wheat, Corn and Soy Crop is genetically modified.
It can wreck some serious havoc on your child’s immune system (everything from gluten allergies, autoimmune diseases & more).
They have Dyes
All those fun cereals like Trix, Froot Loops & even Cocoa Pebbles have artificial dye.. although some of these manufacturers have made a pledge to remove these dyes, not all kids cereals are absent from dye – so reading labels is crucial.
They literally are colors to die for.. these dyes can also wreck havoc on your body too – and cause everything from hyperactivity to lymphom, to thyroid problems & more. Don’t think so? This is a great place to research more about that subject.
They have Artificial Flavorings
It seems like everything now is flavored with something – Razzleberry (yogurt)… Souped up Strawberry, Wacky Watermelon – companies usually invent the flavors and give them a fun kids name. While they may be made in good stride, they are actually pretty unhealthy for the kids because they can cause seizures, fatigue, headaches, and more – many of the ingredients are made of Saccharin (which can bring on allergic reactions and even series side effects that can trigger cancer).
Even worse, some companies are ditching artificial flavoring and using bitter-tasting alternatives that shut off your taste bud (rather than reducing sodium, MSG and sugar) – and the worst part of that is they are not required to listed on the ingredients label (and the FDA says they are “generally safe”). (Sce)
They are FAR from Nutrient Dense
Like most packaged items they are incredibly poor in value – there is absolutely NOTHING about these boxes of cereal that would do well for anyone .. nevermind your kids. They are over-processed, and since they are stripped of most of their real nutrients, synthetic nutrients and vitamins are added back in (hence, Refortified)… but synthetic vitamins are not nearly as beneficial as eating whole foods that have better ingredients.
They are Marketed as Natural
Without being natural at all. It’s a marketing tactic and one that seems to work well for most, as most people have no or little concept of the term and how it’s applied. There are no legal requirements for food marketed as “Natural” – so you can often find that term on many items on grocery store shelves.
If you remember back in 2011, Kashi was part of a class action lawsuit for claiming “natural” on their cereals, while their cereals were genetically modified, with ingredients far from being natural. Some companies have gone from Organic TO Natural without even so much reducing the price – putting MORE money in their pockets, without passing the savings down to you.
When determining their “natural” standards, companies will often times consider profitability. See more here.
(So THEY know exactly what they are doing, and YOU are the person they are hoping to fool).
The Sugar Content is Ridiculous
The Environmental Working Group released a study HERE on their analysis of 1,500 adult AND kids cereals – the verdict was so sad. Kids cereal is worse than it was a few years ago – of over 1,500 analyzed, 181 were marketed for children and contained an average of 40% more sugar than adults cereals.
Given that most kids can’t eat the serving size, and that they can’t stop at ONE bowl, who knows how much sugar they are ingesting, but much more than what they should be consuming in a day.
Curious to know what TEN Cereals top the list? It’s unbelievable, because when you see them you’ll probably say .. “Gosh, these are in the NEWSPAPER ad for my local grocery store…” – true, that tells you that they are a HUGE seller and the stores know that they will sell well.
Top TEN Worst Kids Cereals in Terms of Sugar
So What DO You Feed your Kids
Believe it or not, there are lots of things you can make them for breakfast that aren’t sugary kids cereals and pop tarts. It might not be as convenient, and you might not be able to coupon to get other things as cheap but there ARE things out there.
People ask me this all the time… but they usually say “well I’m so busy, it is what it is. I can’t find time”. We are busy people too. You do what you find important, and for us, this stuff stays out of our house. We don’t walk down the cereal aisle in fact we skip it entirely at Costco. We don’t even go to the regular grocery store hardly EVER so that’s not an issue either. They can’t eat what you don’t have, and if you don’t take them with you then you won’t have issues saying NO.
Steel Cut Oats or Oatmeal is a great option ( and one my kids love!) You can also do Hard Boiled Eggs, sliced Apples, Omelettes with Vegetables (yes.. Veggies!), Coconut Flour Pancakes OR Waffles – which can be made ahead of time, too.