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It used to be a simple decision - porridge, cornflakes or Weet-Bix? But with more than 120 varieties of breakfast cereal available on supermarket shelves, is it any wonder that choosing the best one for your family can take an age?
There are simple cereals - rolled oats, All Bran, cornflakes, wheat biscuits and rice bubbles. Then there are the slightly more complex - mueslis, mixed-grain and fruit-based cereals and individually packaged instant oats. Top that off with the range of sugary cereals and the choices can be confusing.
A brief office survey led to some interesting discoveries - one colleague liked the sugary cereals targeted at children, while others preferred the simpler wholegrains of All Bran.
Another was a fan of instant porridge, while another preferred to make his own using rolled oats and adding dried fruit.
A visit to a supermarket led to an eye-opening 90 minutes.
So many boxes, so many bright colours, eye-catching phrases - "pick me, New Zealand-made", "No Artificial Sweeteners", "50 per cent of your child's daily wholegrain target", and much, much more.
Dietician Siobhan Miller of Nutrition Solutions says breakfast really is the most important meal: "When it comes to food, we are generally creatures of habit and our children learn from our example. Making a healthy breakfast choice is a good way to start."
A healthy breakfast can lead to a lower body mass index (BMI) than for those who skip breakfast and can help boost memory and attention at school.
Cereal or porridge topped with milk, soy milk or yoghurt and some fruit is a really quick and easy breakfast to prepare.
To keep breakfast interesting and varied, try adding chopped fresh fruit, tinned fruit in natural juice or a sprinkle of dried fruit on top.
"Ideal breakfast cereals are those naturally high in fibre without added sugar," says Siobhan.
"Regular muesli-style cereals, oats and porridge, bran flakes, wheat biscuits are all good and have the benefit of tasting great with added fruit.
"Be aware that some cereals contain the equivalent of between eight and 13 teaspoons of sugar per 100g. Children love to customise things. For added sweetness, let them customise their cereal with a favourite fruit rather than adding more sugar."
Siobhan is a New Zealand and UK-registered dietician with more than 20 years' experience. She has worked in many areas of dietetics and now runs a private practice in the Bay of Plenty.
She says the next time you buy cereal, you should take a minute to compare the labels.
Always use the per 100g list to compare products because the portion sizes vary a lot - from 30g to 50g for those she put under the microscope.
Look for cereals marked as high fibre or "contains wholegrains".
"These types of cereals are more slowly digested and will help you to feel full for longer."
Looking at a few of the breakfast cereals available, some surprisingly didn't make the cut.
Of the 24 cereals Siobhan scrutinised, only eight met her healthy breakfast choice criteria.
These were: Uncle Toby's Rolled Oats, Weightwatchers Fruity Muesli, Sanitarium Fibre Life Bran and Oats with Berry, Kellogg's Sultana Bran Crunch, All Bran Original (but may not be suitable for young children because of high fibre), Sanitarium Double Crunch Apricot (OK but not much fibre), Sanitarium Weet-Bix and Hubbard's Honey Bee Good, which Siobhan classified as OK but "a bit high in sugar" at 20.7g per 100g.
There were some surprising entries in the cereals that didn't meet her criteria, including those advertised as being a healthy choice by way of the National Heart Foundation tick and manufacturers' claims.
Siobhan said she would be less likely to choose Uncle Toby's Oats Quick Sachets, Creamy Honey, Hubbard's Big Breakfast Toasted Muesli, Kellogg's Just Right Muesli Low GI Fruit and Nut, Pams Toasted Muesli and Sanitarium Cluster Crisp Coconut Crunch, which all had more fat content than she would advise.
Siobhan said she would also not recommend the following cereals as a daily healthy choice because of sodium and sugar levels: Kellogg's Special K (low fibre, high sodium), Sanitarium Light and Tasty Manuka Honey, Date and Nut (high sugar), Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (high sugar, low fibre), Sanitarium Ricies (low fibre, high sodium), Pams Cornflakes (high sodium), Nestle Milo (high sugar), Kellogg's Nutrigrain (high sugar), Kellogg's Fruit Loops (high sugar), Hubbard's Big Bugs In Mud (high sugar), Nestle Nesquik (high sugar) and Kellogg's Coco Pops (high sugar, low fibre and high sodium).
4 CEREAL MEASURES
Dietician Siobhan Miller says a healthy choice breakfast cereal should have (per 100g):
More than 5g dietary fibre. For children, don't choose really high-fibre cereals such as those with more than 15g fibre.
Less than 5g total fat.
Less than 15g sugar or less than 25g sugar if the item contains dried fruit.
Less than 400mg sodium.