A friend of mine once told me that the rule in their house growing up was that they were allowed to choose any cereal they wanted as long as the first ingredient on the label wasn't SUGAR. It could be the 2nd, or 3rd listed, just not the first.
I have adopted that strategy in my household, and it seems to have worked pretty well for us. It's a compromise... YES, my children do eat Lucky Charms for breakfast, but NO, we did not have a fight over it. So... all in all, not such a bad deal. Of course, for the most part, I tend to buy my children the store brand cereals, so that does also limit their choices as well... Mean (frugal) Mommy, LOL!
Now believe me when I say, I am not disillusioned into thinking that this is an incredibly healthy food choice. However, I'm picking my battles. I know that there are better things for my kids to eat. But I also know that there are worse things.
I will say though, that as much as my children love to indulge in the junky stuff (candy, cupcakes, doughnuts, cereal with marshmallows...), they equally love to nosh on healthy foods like veggies, fruit, and cheese.
Yay for my well rounded kiddos!
(Side note: I do not allow any of the 'pebbles' cereals in my house, as they are just ridiculously messy)
