Mum praised for blending Cheerios to make edible sand for children

A mum is being praised online for sharing the idea to blend up Cheerios in order to create sand that kids can actually eat.

I don't have kids myself, but from what I remember from being one, there are two main things children love to do: play and eat. See the pair come together below:

Often, youngsters who don't know any better will attempt to combine these two pastimes by shoving whatever they're playing with into their mouths, from building blocks and toy cars to dolls' feet and stuffed animals.

As a result, parents are often left scooping drool-covered toys from the mouths of children. The task is unpleasant at the best of times, and it's only made all the more difficult when the thing they've decided to eat is very tiny. Like, grain-of-sand tiny.

So rather than having to scrutinise your child's every move in a sandbox, mums have come up with the idea of simply making sand that children can eat.

One TikTok user shared footage of the process online, showing how the cereal quickly breaks down into fine pieces which can be placed on a tray as a makeshift mini-sandbox.

@ellethevirgo/TikTok

Though the idea might not necessarily be brand new, those who are only just learning about the clever trick are absolutely loving it.

Many have responded to the video to celebrate the idea and praise it for making their lives with children easier, with one writing: "Yess!! So if she accidentally eats the sand it’s ok bc it’s freaking Cheerios lol."

Another responded: "No one said you were allowed to be this smart...," while a third wrote: "Wait, what? Holy hell this is genius."

Though the majority of comments were full of praise, some TikTokers did find a potential issue with the Cheerio idea as they wrote: "What happened when you go to an actual beach and she eats sand thinking it’s okay..."

@ellethevirgo/TikTok

Admittedly, this would be a problem, but considering actual sand would be nowhere near as tasty as Cheerios, I imagine they wouldn't be rushing to get another mouthful anytime soon. Though kids have been known to do this that don't make sense.

Trips to the beach may require a bit more monitoring, but the Cheerio idea is a great at-home solution for any parents looking for a new way to entertain their child.

Plus, it's obviously working for the creator of this video as she posted an update after the original post was shared, writing: "Update: it’s been a year and she still hasn’t tasted real sand."

If it works, it works.