How many bowls of cereal per day is reasonable for my kids to eat?

I swear my kids could eat nothing but cereal all day if I would let them.  I try to limit them to 1 or 2 bowls a day but it is always a struggle.  I wonder if it is really all that bad of a choice, however.  I only buy pretty healthy cereals with low-ish sugar: multi-grain cheerios, honey bunches of oats, raisin bran, shredded wheat, etc... They eat small portions with 1% milk, they just eat it for breakfast, for a snack after school, and request it pretty much every other snack time as well such as mid-morning (my toddler) and before bed.  Just curious if I am overreacting by limiting them.

BTW they are both active and healthy, it is not a weight control issue.

Instead of limiting the cereal they eat, why don't you try to introduce NEW foods for them? IF you're really concerned. I mean, it's a lot of sugar and not a lot of protein, but they ARE getting all that calcium. =P

Maybe get them involved.. sit down and try to come up with some appetizing new snacks. 

Usually when they ask for another bowl I tell them they have to pick something else.  We have plenty of fruit, yogurt, deli meat, cheese sticks etc... they can then choose from.  It is jut a pain.  Why can't parenting be easy?  <pout>

j/k

I think it's great that you only get healthy types of cereals, but I agree that you should limit them. The more types of foods kids are encouraged to eat, the better. I'd try to limit too many servings of ANYTHING in a day, unless it's vegetables, I suppose. ;-)

Personally, I grew up eating tons of cereal every day after school, and it was really bad. I probably ate three servings at a time every day, and I didn't learn how to eat healthily until I was almost out of college. 

Even though your kids aren't eating huge portions of cereal, it could turn into an unhealthy habit. My husband is a prime example - he only eats about four types of food: pasta, pizza, deep-fried fast food, and peanut butter sandwiches. He won't eat ANY fruits or vegetables, and it's because his parents didn't try hard enough to make him sample new foods as a kid. He grew up learning it was ok to just eat this limited selection, and now he doesn't desire to try anything new or healthy. When I have kids, I really want to avoid them growing up like that!