Teaching portions— cereal

[Anonymous]

I would only allow 2 bowls, then give her fruits, nuts, etc.

4 is crazy. You will not give your DD an eating disorder by limiting her.

Cereal is addictive! Sweet and crunchy. I could eat 2-3 bowls myself.

[Anonymous]

Please teach your kids about portion size. They should also listen to their bodies but they also need to know what is appropriate. As an over weight adult I recognize a lot of my problem is not learning what appropriate portions were as a child. I try not to police what my children eat but they are not allowed to eat 4 bowls of cereal. Give a piece of fruit or yogurt with the cereal and once one or two bowls are done breakfast is over. They can eat again at lunch time.

[Anonymous]

If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would only allow 2 bowls, then give her fruits, nuts, etc.

4 is crazy. You will not give your DD an eating disorder by limiting her.

Cereal is addictive! Sweet and crunchy. I could eat 2-3 bowls myself.

A serving of cheerios is 3/4 cup and a regular bowl you'd pour yourself is more like 1.5 cup so that 4 bowls of cheerios is like 8 servings of carbs in one sitting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please teach your kids about portion size. They should also listen to their bodies but they also need to know what is appropriate. As an over weight adult I recognize a lot of my problem is not learning what appropriate portions were as a child. I try not to police what my children eat but they are not allowed to eat 4 bowls of cereal. Give a piece of fruit or yogurt with the cereal and once one or two bowls are done breakfast is over. They can eat again at lunch time.

You may be trying not to police, but you are policing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would only allow 2 bowls, then give her fruits, nuts, etc.

4 is crazy. You will not give your DD an eating disorder by limiting her.

Cereal is addictive! Sweet and crunchy. I could eat 2-3 bowls myself.

A serving of cheerios is 3/4 cup and a regular bowl you'd pour yourself is more like 1.5 cup so that 4 bowls of cheerios is like 8 servings of carbs in one sitting

I'm pretty sure we don't all have the same sized bowls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

Girl during puberty vs boy during puberty.

Every post that people make freaking about their daughter and carbs is right at 9, or 10, or 11 when girls are starting puberty and their body is screaming at them that it needs fuel for the task. We react to this in our daughters by policing them, and in our sons by celebrating. And which gender has more issues with obesity, and eating disorders? Hmmmmm . . . .

[Anonymous]

It's weird that so many responses are fixated on protein. Is the kid eating dry cereal? If it's with milk, that's lots of protein. My kids like cereal with plain yogurt and soccer banana, which may feel more filling than liquid milk, but very similar. (Though choose another fruit since bananas can be constipating).

What size bowls are we taking about? Could be a good lesson to look at the nutrition info on the box, measure out that portion size, so you can see how your bowls compare to the recommendations.

Overall, if it's a no added sugar cereal, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Just make sure the other meals in the day have vegetables and more diverse foods overall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

Girl during puberty vs boy during puberty.

Every post that people make freaking about their daughter and carbs is right at 9, or 10, or 11 when girls are starting puberty and their body is screaming at them that it needs fuel for the task. We react to this in our daughters by policing them, and in our sons by celebrating. And which gender has more issues with obesity, and eating disorders? Hmmmmm . . . .

9 year olds should not be going through puberty and if they are obesity is the prime culprit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's weird that so many responses are fixated on protein. Is the kid eating dry cereal? If it's with milk, that's lots of protein. My kids like cereal with plain yogurt and soccer banana, which may feel more filling than liquid milk, but very similar. (Though choose another fruit since bananas can be constipating).

What size bowls are we taking about? Could be a good lesson to look at the nutrition info on the box, measure out that portion size, so you can see how your bowls compare to the recommendations.

Overall, if it's a no added sugar cereal, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Just make sure the other meals in the day have vegetables and more diverse foods overall.

Cheerioes has added sugar. Read the box. Milk has alot of carbs. If you're looking for a protein source from dairy, you want low fat yogurt or cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

Girl during puberty vs boy during puberty.

Every post that people make freaking about their daughter and carbs is right at 9, or 10, or 11 when girls are starting puberty and their body is screaming at them that it needs fuel for the task. We react to this in our daughters by policing them, and in our sons by celebrating. And which gender has more issues with obesity, and eating disorders? Hmmmmm . . . .

9 year olds should not be going through puberty and if they are obesity is the prime culprit.

I got my period at age 10 and my mom was 9. Neither of us were/are overweight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

Girl during puberty vs boy during puberty.

Every post that people make freaking about their daughter and carbs is right at 9, or 10, or 11 when girls are starting puberty and their body is screaming at them that it needs fuel for the task. We react to this in our daughters by policing them, and in our sons by celebrating. And which gender has more issues with obesity, and eating disorders? Hmmmmm . . . .

9 year olds should not be going through puberty and if they are obesity is the prime culprit.

Puberty starts several years before a girl's period. 9 is a very normal age to start, and increase in appetite, and particularly wanting carbs is one of the early signs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would only allow 2 bowls, then give her fruits, nuts, etc.

4 is crazy. You will not give your DD an eating disorder by limiting her.

Cereal is addictive! Sweet and crunchy. I could eat 2-3 bowls myself.

A serving of cheerios is 3/4 cup and a regular bowl you'd pour yourself is more like 1.5 cup so that 4 bowls of cheerios is like 8 servings of carbs in one sitting

I'm pretty sure we don't all have the same sized bowls.

LMAO 3/4 cup is smaller than a teacup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are this controlling, prepare yourself for adolescence. My teen boy can eat 4 bowls of cereal and then eat 4 more later in the day. Unless your kids are overweight, chill out.

9 year old girl vs. teen boy

Hmmmmm.......

Girl during puberty vs boy during puberty.

Every post that people make freaking about their daughter and carbs is right at 9, or 10, or 11 when girls are starting puberty and their body is screaming at them that it needs fuel for the task. We react to this in our daughters by policing them, and in our sons by celebrating. And which gender has more issues with obesity, and eating disorders? Hmmmmm . . . .

9 year olds should not be going through puberty and if they are obesity is the prime culprit.

Puberty starts several years before a girl's period. 9 is a very normal age to start, and increase in appetite, and particularly wanting carbs is one of the early signs.

8 years is precocious puberty. The average age of menarche is 12 or 13. Technically 9 is """normal""" but it is definitely not desirable, and it is closer to precocious puberty than average.

“The age of puberty, especially female puberty, has been decreasing in western cultures for decades now,” Chapa said. “For example, at the turn of the 20th century, the average age for an American girl to get her period was 16 or 17. Today, that number has decreased to 12 or 13 years.”

It’s not just girls, a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that boys were starting puberty earlier than previously recorded. According to the findings, boys are now beginning puberty around, or a little before age 10. Previously, 11 years of age was the given number where boys began puberty. The study claimed that the public health implication of these findings is unknown and requires further studies.

There is no definitive answer to why the age of puberty has dropped so dramatically, but there are theories, whether it’s the increased body mass index in children, nutritional factors or hormone influences in dietary intake. Because we don’t know exactly why it’s happening, there’s no real way to stop somewhat-early puberty, but it’s important to know how it can affect your child’s health.
Puberty effects on health

“Early puberty in girls has been associated with increased risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, obesity and even diabetes in adult life,” Chapa said. “Some of these conditions are related to prolonged and early exposure to estrogen from the active ovarian cycle.”

There are mental health risks to early female puberty as well, especially for a girl going through a big change before her friends.

“Early female puberty has been associated with future psychosocial complications like depression and substance abuse,” Chapa said. “This has been theorized to be a result of neurodevelopmental changes of hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin, caused by puberty, which can lead to risk taking behavior, or simply maladaptation to early onset of secondary sexual characteristics when peers are less physically developed.”