Kids Wants Chocolate, Sugar In Their Cereal

By Timothy Linscott First Published January 16, 1998Publisher/Editor Fred opened the floor for debate earlier this week when he mentioned the words “breakfast cereal.” His is a hot topic for me. I have studied and analyzed the theories behind how breakfast cereals affect a persons life.Fred mentioned that his kids love the kids' cereals. Like Lucky Charms and Coco Puffs. All sugar and no nutrition.“We will buy a big l0-pound box of cereal and it will be gone in about an hour,” Fred said.I can agree with that statement. When I was a kid, cereal was a breakfast, lunch and dinner food.“My kids like stuff with massive doses of sugar in it,” he noted.“'Chocolate Coated Sugar Bombs' or stuff like that is what my kids crave,” Fred added.Editor Denise said her kids enjoy cereals like Cheerios. I swear that Cheerios has written on the side of the box “Just add milk and tons of sugar.”Denise has a method of cereal buying. She buys a box of Cheerios, a box of Raisin Nut Bran and a sugary cereal. Whichever daughter is with her gets to choose the sugary cereal.That reminded me of my mother's cereal method to her madness. Knowing that kids liked sugary cereal and wanting them to eat healthy, which usually consisted of bad tasting, bland cereal, my mom had a way of getting the best of both worlds.She would buy a box of plain cereal, either Cheerios, rice pops, or Blandeos, the breakfast of the boring, and mix it in this huge, white plastic container with a box of the good stuff. She would dump it in both boxes and shake up the container to mix the good and the bad together.There, problem solved. When we would eat the cereal we would get nutrition and a healthy sugar buzz.My siblings and I would open up the cereal bin and solve the problem ourselves. If we scooped up the cereal just right, the majority of the bowl was the sugary cereal. We would just eat around the rest of it. Then after about a week, the only thing left was the healthy cereal.Pretty sneaky on our part until Mom said she wouldn't buy any more cereal until what was in the bin was gone.Problem solved, Mom thought. Kids eat healthy cereal, get nutrition.Yes, problem solved. Kids feed dog healthy cereal and dog has the highest fiber content of any canine in the world. Problem solved.The real challenge was getting the prize out. Mom wouldn't let us get the prize out of the box until she dumped the boxes into the mighty white bin.I would just rip into the box to get to the prize, letting the blame go to my siblings. But when it got to be just me at home, I needed a method to my own madness.Mom would buy cereal and store it until the old stuff was eaten. I would get into the new box and get the prize out. When it was time put the new boxes into the Jumbotron White Cereal Bin, I would be “Mommy's little helper,” and make the transfer.Problem solved.The debate over the bagged cereals sparked special interest for me. I can't afford the $11.95 for Frosted Flakes or the $16.95 for Froot Loops. Have you seen the prices of name brand cereal today?If the prices are going to be that high, then the prizes should be better. Like a laptop computer or Ford Aspire.“Free inside Fruity Pebbles, 14K gold Rolex watch. They're Yabba-Dabba delicious,” the ads would say on television.I can afford the bag cereals. Cheap knock offs. Corn Pops become Corn Bursts, Lucky Charms become Matey-Os, Captain Crunch becomes Super Crunch. By the way, Captain Crunch had the coolest prizes when I was a kid.The debate marches on. Which cereal is best, what cereal do kids like the best, which prizes are the coolest?The world may never know.

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