Healthiest Cereals That Kids Will Eat

Although cereal can be a healthy breakfast or snack option, many are also low in nutrients and high in sugar. Unfortunately, these cereals are typically marketed towards kids who are more interested in eating something that tastes good than what is healthy for them. However, there are many healthy cereals that are equally nutritious and appealing to picky taste buds. Consider broadening your cereal palate and try a variety of types and brands to determine which your children will enjoy most.

Low-Sugar Cereals

CerealFacts.org reports that the least healthy cereals are the same ones marketed to children specifically. In addition to having high sugar content, these cereals are also higher in salt, fat and additives; and many have artificial food coloring to increase eye appeal. Contrary to popular belief however, there is evidence that children will eat lower-sugar cereals if given the opportunity. According to CerealFacts.org and ChangingHabits.com, a study by researchers at Yale University showed that kids will eat low-sugar cereals in proper portions without adding excessive amounts of table sugar, if healthy alternatives are provided to them. In comparison, kids who were given pre-sweetened cereals ate more than the recommended serving sizes and consumed increased amounts of sugar.

Kellogg Mini-Wheats

According to CerealFacts.org and GenerationNext.com, the healthiest kids cereal is Kellogg Mini-Wheats. KellogsNutrition.com reports that the Original Frosted Mini-Wheats are made from whole-grains and are a source of dietary fiber which aids in filling kids up for a healthy start to the day. Furthermore, Kellogg Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite-Size also earned a healthy score of good on the Consumer Reports rating scale, as cited by ConsumerReports.org. Although frosted with 12 g of sugar per serving, the frosted cereal also provides 6 g of dietary fiber and is low in salt.

Cheerios

General Mills Cheerios are recommended as a healthy kids' cereal choice by ConsumerReports.org. Cheerios are often marketed to kids and adults alike and come in plain and flavored varieties such as Honey Nut Cheerios. Although Honey Nut is not recommended by CerealFacts.org, Cheerios scored points in the nutrition rating system used by Consumer Reports for being higher in dietary fiber and lower in sugar than other sugary kids cereals such as Lucky Charms and Twix. More specifically, plain Cheerios has 3 g of dietary fiber and only 1 g of sugar per serving.

Babara's Bakery Organic Wild Puffs

CerealFacts.org has Barbara's Bakery Organic Wild Puffs cereal listed as the second-highest healthiest kids cereal with a nutrition score of 58. The score is based upon a nutrient profiling system founded by Rayner et al. at Oxford University and is used as a determinant for making making health claims in Australia. A score greater than 62 is defined as as healthy product with numbers ranging between 0 and 100. Barbara's Bakery Organic Wild Puffs is lower in sugar with 7 g per serving, made with all-natural flavors and contains 3 g of fiber per hearty serving.