Cheerios Milestones!

EDIT – Just a couple of days left in this contest! You can win a cute little Cheerios book – c’mon, tell us your favourite milestone!

*The following contest is open to Canadians only.*

“Milestones.”

Once you become a parent, the word is loaded with meaning. It can invoke joy, paranoia, and downright depression depending on how your child fares against the perception of when the milestone “should” be met. With Ryder, I spent too much time stressing over what he should be doing, quite contrary to his pediatrician’s advice:

“Don’t worry about it. Take a group of 5 years olds. Nobody cares when they took their first step or said their first word. On the contrary, it would be nice if they’d sit down and shut up. The point is, all kids catch up eventually, and at their own pace.”

I love that man.

Now that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Ryder’s milestones – and one memory that always makes me feel warm and fuzzy is that of Ryder discovering his first finger food: Cheerios. At around 7 months, I had been trying for weeks to get him to pick up and taste the delicious little O’s. He would push them around on his tray, lick one, put it in his mouth, and then gag. Sigh.

Of course, Ryder has always had a problem with new textures, so I just kept offering him the Cheerios, hoping that one day he would get the hang of it. And after a few days, he did! Since then, he has enjoyed Cheerios EVERY SINGLE DAY. It’s his favourite breakfast, snack, and before bed munchies. I love that there’s only 1 gram of sugar per serving; they provide at least 10% of the Daily Value of 14 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid; and have no artificial colors or flavors.

Plus, they’re the perfect finger food! Cheerios are easily managed by little fingers and help develop motor skills because the O’s are easy to pick up, firm and resist crumbling. And they happen to be YUM!

Here’s Ryder at 7 months old enjoying his Cheerios!

If you have a Cheerios milestone to share, you could have your child featured on a special edition Cheerios Box and WIN $10,000 towards an RESP from TD Canada Trust! 

Simply provide a photo of your child’s Cheerios milestone, and write a short description of how Cheerios has played a special part in the early years of your child.

For full contest details, and to submit your entry, please visit the Cheerios Website. Contest closes December 15th.

Good news! I’m also hosting a mini-Cheerios giveaway!

One lucky Listen to Lena! reader will receive a Cheerios playbook, perfect for learning and fun! To enter, simply leave a comment sharing a story about one of your child’s milestones.

Blog followers – treat yourself to an extra entry! Remember, you must leave a separate comment announcing your follower status. I’ll draw for a winner at the end of October. Good luck everybody!

I am participating in the Cheerios Milestones program by Mom Central on behalf of General Mills. I received a gift card as a thank you. The opinions on this blog are my own.