Cereal Copycatters

Plain dry Cheerios is one of the first solid foods for almost every kid, and ours were no exception.  Since then, they have of course moved on to cereal with milk (lactose-free for Clara) and to better tasting cereals.  We have had many versions of Cheerios, and we've also had many versions of Chex.  For a long time, those two were the main options, and we let the kids between whatever version of Cheerios was had at the time and whatever version of Chex we had at the time.  I've always been a fan of cereal for breakfast, so for most of my adult life I've had a box of my own cereal.  Sometimes I go with "junk food" cereals like Fruity Pebbles, and sometimes I have average ones like Honey Bunches of Oats, but only one box at a time, so I rotate through a few different ones.  Recently I went with Raisin Bran Crunch.  At some point, the kids noticed it.  It has a big cartoon sun on it, and they recognized that as something that must be good.  They wanted to try it, and since my secret stash had been exposed, I let them.  They really liked it, and "the sun one" became a favorite.  Now it's known as "Raisin Bran The Sun" to them, and we now buy it regularly.  Also somewhat recently I bought one of my favorites, Frosted Mini Wheats, which now comes in several flavors.  They too caught on to that one, and it also became a favorite.  Either I just have trendsetting tastes in cereal, or I just have juvenile tastes.  Regardless, we are thankful for our Costco membership, because they carry both Raisin Bran Crunch and Frosted Mini Wheats in bulk, so we take advantage of that.  The only other one in our current options for them is Chocolate Cheerios, which also remains popular, but unfortunately Costco doesn't carry that one.  Still, I sometimes prefer something different, so every now and then I'll buy a box of something else for myself, and recently I went with another box of Fruity Pebbles.  Thus far, the kids have not caught on to its existence, but it's probably only a matter of time.  Unfortunately for them, it has little redeeming health value, so even if they discover it, it won't be something they get to have on a regular basis.  But they have several other good options, so I think they'll somehow survive.