A bowl of cereal is a great way to start the day, especially for kids. It's easy to prepare and can be a nutritious part of breakfast, but parents may have to do a little homework to find the healthiest options. Pediatric Registered Dietitian Jennifer Willoughby with Cleveland Clinic Children's says you should try to find cereals that are high in fiber, but low in sugar.
"A lot of those cereals are going to be more of your whole grains; anything with oats in them is great, shredded wheat, anything with barley, bran, things that are naturally high in fiber because of the whole grain content of the food," Willoughby explained.
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Willoughby says you should look for cereals that have the fewest ingredients and ingredient names you can pronounce. Whole grains should be at the top of the list.
look for things like whole oats, oatmeal, or whole wheat. You should avoid cereals with things like corn syrup, brown sugar, dextrin, or glucose near the top of the ingredients list.
Willoughby says high-fiber cereals will help your child feel fuller, longer. And she says if you're worried about taste, try dressing it up on your own.
"Maybe throw some healthier dark chocolate in there. A little bit of berries go a long way to sweeten it up a bit and that can be a good way to still get the healthy, high-fiber nutritional benefits from the cereal, but a little kid-friendly way that they'll like the flavor, too," she added.
Willoughby adds a good way to wean your kids off of the sugary cereal is to do it gradually. She says it's fine to mix a healthy cereal with a sugary one and then decrease the sugary cereal amount over time.