Uh O's

It appears that despite my best efforts, I have created an O loving child. This morning, upon awakening, he asked, "Have you ever made O muffins?" I replied, "No, have you?" He said "No." So I asked, "How would we make them?" His reply, "Just put O's in the batter and bake them. We need to use the sticky kind." On the bright side, he wakes up dreaming of baking. Yet...

I can't help but wonder why it is that O cereal has become a ubiquitous part of childhood, from being recommended as a first food to becoming part of a child's snack or daily breakfast? Cheerios have infiltrated American culture so thoroughly that parents are made to feel remiss if they don't offer them. I tried to avoid them for as long as possible, well past eight months and I refused to buy Cheerios which are simply sugar-laden letters posing as cereal. I figured I would go the organic route but discovered that as a first finger food, some of them, because of their lower sugar content, are less dis solvable and therefore more of a choking hazard. I was always certain I would be dislodging some O's from Izzy's throat at one time or another, yet luckily we passed the finger food phase unscathed. Then I thought I could dispense with O's..instead they became part of the snack cup phase and were even requested at breakfast time. We have tried many, Cascadian Farms, Trader Joe's O's (which seem reminiscent of some kind of pet food) and Health Valley Oat O's which are the tastiest of the bunch and apparently they would work well in a muffin. At least they are 'healthyish.'