I bought a box of Peanut Butter Crunch the other day. This is not a cereal I would normally purchase. Sugar is the second ingredient.
I will admit to purchasing cereal with sugar in it, but usually not when it is so prominent. Actually, at this point unless it is at Costco I only by cereal when it is on sale for $2 or less a box. Then I stock up. A lot.
We wound up dropping to some dangerous levels in the house because the cereals I would normally buy did not go on sale. Finally this week one of the cereals I do buy did go on sale, along with the various Captain Crunch cereals, which were directly underneath. I figured one box wouldn’t hurt. It would be a bit of a treat for the kids, it would last a day that that would be the end of that.
True to form, the box lasted one morning. Dela didn’t like the cereal. Ciaran had one bowl. August and Xavier had two bowls each. That left enough for me to have a bowl. I haven’t eaten this cereal in well over twenty years – to the point where I had pretty much forgotten what it tastes like. Wow, is it sweet. Yes, there is a bit of peanut butter taste, but predominatly it’s a sugary sensation.
What is the point here?
I try to provide decent breakfast cereals for my kids to eat. Every once in a while, like twice a year, it is alright to have something for the fun of it. Interestingly, the Peanut Butter Crunch provided an opportunity for me to have a discussion with my 11 year old about commercials, specifically the tagline “Part of this nutrutious breakfast.” If the breakfast is so nutritious, why are there so many items on the table? Take away the cereal and would the breakfast shown in the commercial still be nutritious? Instead take away only the piece of fruit. Would it still be as nutritious?
This led to other discussions about commercials and truth and advertising.
It is important to talk to your kids about these things. Buying a sugary cereal isn’t the worst thing in the world, but blindly taking at face value that it is nutritious enough is not smart. Much like everything else we need to be critical thinkers, asking what the agenda is behind the message.
Who knew cereal could provide such life lessons?