Survey: Moms Sneak Generic Cereals into Brand Name Boxes

When it was time to go grocery shopping with mom, my brother and I never got the choice of which brand of cereal to get. If mom had a coupon, we had to live with Shredded Wheat or Chex that week. When faced with pickier children, a new UK survey shows moms saving their pennies by swapping brand name goods for generic while keeping the flashy packaging the kids expect.

The UK grocery line Asda surveyed its shoppers and found that one in four moms admit to refilling their kids' favorite cereal boxes with generic goods to try to weather the financial storm—and the complaints of children who are growing more conscious of taste and less sympathetic of price.

Some mothers are also running into issues of their children micro-managing the fridge. One frustrated blogger for the UK Telegraph says her teenage son is very observant of the expiration date on the milk and will not drink it if the current date is on or after that on the sticker. "Before I get home with the shopping," she says, "I peel off the best-before stickers on items I’ve bought at a fraction of the full price."

Are your children choosey when it comes to brands or fussy about best-by dates? What do you do to get around the complaints?