Oh man, we typically did not have “sugar cereals” at home – Golden Grahams were as rowdy as it got. The exceptions were usually because we were visiting relatives and they had them. So, to make up for the lack of sugar in the cereal, I’d add my own. I think the nutritional info used to specify creal plus milk and two spoons of sugar. So, I’d use tablespoons, turning plain shredded wheat from something resembling an abrasive scrub pad into a rather tasty treat.
After a while I didn’t bother with putting the sugar on my cereal. After breakfast, I’d sneak a Moon Pie, or maybe a hardened clump of brown sugar. Once, before my sister’s birthday, I got into the can of cake frosting. When it came time for Mom to make the cake, the can of frosting was there all right, but empty. None of us (including me, the actual culprit) would 'fess up. My dad lectured us on what happens to liars and specified Richard M. Nixon as an example. I let my sister (then 2 1/2, and unable to find, much less open, the can of frosting) take the rap.
In spite of all this I made it all the way to age 13 before having any dental caries.
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