Think of the most heinous accusation that has ever been hurled in your direction. If you are a parent, you likely shudder at the thought of being categorized with these derelict moms and dads, who shouldn’t even be free to walk the earth, let alone be allowed to influence a young life.
While you may refrain from using an electronic dog collar to shock your young children as a means of punishment and entertainment, attaching your 13-year-old to the roof of the family van to hold down a large cardboard box, knowingly poison your kids in an effort to score a wad of cash, or selling your daughter so you can buy your way out of the slums, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) wants you to know that if you are not monitoring what your children are eating for breakfast, then you’re almost as bad as the aforementioned parents.
As if most of us don’t suffer from enough parental guilt, the group just released a study, which shows that a huge chunk of American moms and dads are leading their children down the path to obesity and a litany of other chronic health problems… all because of the cereal they serve for breakfast.
According to the EWG, more than half of the 84 breakfast cereal brands it tested contained at least 12 grams of sugar, or the equivalent of three chocolate chip cookies per serving.
Among the worst offenders are: Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp, and Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow. Researchers found all contain about 20 grams of sugar. That’s a far cry from the three teaspoons of sugar the American Heart Association recommends children consume in an entire day.
Health experts note that you are better off giving your kid a cream-filled Twinkie for breakfast than allowing him to down the five teaspoons of sugar contained in each serving of the aforementioned cereals.
Other sugar-soaked cereals the EWG suggests parents stray from feeding their kids include:
*Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries (46.9% sugar)
*Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original (44.4% sugar)
*Kellogg’s Smorz (43.3% sugar)
*Kellogg’s Apple Jacks (42.9% sugar)
*Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Berries (42.3% sugar)
*Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original (41.4% sugar)
How often do you allow your kids to consume these cereals? What’s more, how do you feel about being accused of feeding your children dessert for breakfast when you give them a bowl of Froot Loops in the morning?