Consumer Reports' nutritional ratings are based on the serving size listed on the box. To see how that compares to the amount kids actually pour themselves, testers asked 91 children to pour out a bowl of cereal. The amount was often a lot more than a serving size and that means kids can get a lot more sugar.
Consumer Reports did find a few kids cereals that rated very good. They're Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Kix and Life. They're relatively low in sugar. They have some fiber. And they're a good source of calcium and iron.
Regular Cheerios earned top ratings for nutrition. It has only one gram of sugar per serving and a healthful three grams of fiber.
Consumer Reports says it's interesting to note that an estimated 58 percentof those who are eating kids' cereals are not kids at all, but people 18 and older!
In addition to kids' cereals, Consumer Reports also tested oatmeal and top-rated Quaker Steel Cut Oatmeal. It takes nearly half an hour to cook. Almost as good, Old Fashioned Quaker Oats, which takes five minutes to prepare. />
