Have you ever noticed how much time you can spend in the cereal
aisle? I always approach that colorful stretch of commercial grade
vinyl tile with an inner sigh, knowing the fate of my children’s
happiness is in my hands and equally in those of the
”
on sale
”
cereal gods.
Have you ever noticed how much time you can spend in the cereal aisle? I always approach that colorful stretch of commercial grade vinyl tile with an inner sigh, knowing the fate of my children’s happiness is in my hands and equally in those of the “on sale” cereal gods. I cannot fool the superior taste buds of these kids and I know better than to try and put generic cheerios in a real Cheerios box.
You would think that eating cereal is a simple thing, but it’s not. It’s the social event of the morning. In a perfect world, there would be no tears at the breakfast table, but the thoughtless people at Kellogg’s have placed only one toy in a box without thinking about people with multiple children.
This fact inspires me to purchase cereal in a bag or a plain box, which has no toy. Some cereal manufacturers don’t put a toy in the box even though they expect nearly five dollars for puffed rice which I think is outrageous. No, instead they put a picture of toy you can get if you save five box tops (and receipts) and mail them in with a small check for shipping and handling.
I have enough to manage in the morning without being pressured to send away for one Scooby Doo Floppy Frisbee with glow in the dark monsters on it.
So I buy generic cereal in the hopes of avoiding the toy conflict at the breakfast table and to save some money. I also offer scrambled eggs or waffles to but the kids usually decline and opt for a cold breakfast.
It’s funny that my children do exactly the same thing my little brother and I did as kids without being told the stories. They have figured out on their own how to strategically place a cereal box in between their places at the table to act as a shield blocking them selves from the view of the one who is currently annoying them. They claim (just as I did when I was their age) that they are, “just reading the cereal box” but I know better.
This is not only a strategy to block your sister’s face, but a ploy to sneak extra sugar without being snitched out because the pre-sweetened cereal is not allowed on a school morning.
My pathetic counter move is to buy the cereal in plain boxes or bags and put in a Tupperware container. This eliminates the false claim of one being so interested in cereal box messages and the painfully simple mazes that only take five seconds to conquer.
When the kids place the plain plastic rectangular container in between themselves and other siblings, it is an intended shield and received as a blatant statement of rejection towards the blocked ones.
Whomever is on the other side takes it personally, but the real intention isn’t an ill intended message of elimination, it’s to conceal the sugar thief from the one who will most likely tattle on them for putting extra spoons of sugar on plain cereal.
I am aware of this even though they think they are fooling me. Now someone is sulking, which draws my attention to the plastic wall of doom and the snickering child behind it who thinks they got away with something.
I guess I have to laugh a little because I know what they’re up to and all I can think is that you can’t out smart your Mom … even the rabbit knows “Tricks are for kids.”
