Why are there no toys in breakfast cereal anymore?

I pity the poor kids of today.
Nothing was more exciting than opening a new box of cereal and fighting with my brother to retrieve the toy (which was always at the bottom).
Particular highlights were those little things in Shreddies (might have been called Shrinky Dinkys or something?) that you put in the oven and they shrunk to a small plastic thing that you could make a key ring out of.
Actually, they sound a bit crap now but were amazing when you were seven.

Cost elfinsafety innit.

Easier / cheaper / equally effective to offer the same prizes but with a mail in offer no-one will ever mail in.

(which was always at the bottom).

despite the TV ads which showed you a kid opening a new box, and a bright shiny toy neatly dropping straight out onto a perfect bowl of cereal.

Nope, you shoved your arm in up to the elbow and rootled about at the bottom for whatever poxy plastic rubbish lay inside. 😆

Ghostbusters sticker things in Shreddies were a real highlight. I might be showing my age… Sadly now its check a code in the website and get, er, not much.

Frosties and Cornflakes reflector’s.

Some people cockle-doo, some people cockle-don’t…

When H&S took hold, they first started to put them in plastic bags. The end was nigh when the plastic bag with the toy in had to be in the box but outside of the bag of cereal.

🙁

Actually, they sound a bit crap now but were amazing when you were seven.

Nothing that was exciting to us when we were seven would even slightly interest a 7 year old today.

Apart from lego obviously.

That said I’m pretty sure when I was seven 45year olds weren’t as excited about lego as they are today.Perhaps all the plastic toys that were in boxes of cereal in the 1970s and 1980s will reappear in boxes of Tena Men in the 2030s and 2040s

The end was nigh when the plastic bag with the toy in had to be in the box but outside of the bag of cereal.

True, but those times when you opened the box, took the plastic bag out, got the toy and put the bag back then watched your little brother opening the bag and getting more and more wound up by not finding the toy which HAD to be there because the bag wasn’t open….

I’ve still got a Frosties reflector, it’s now on my 4 year olds bike, handed down through generations.
Sort of!

My favourites were the wee submarines that you filled with bicarbonate of soda. They sank in the bath and then bubbled back up to the surface!

little aeroplane models for a while, total guff but at the time the best thing in the world

little aeroplane models

Were amazing.

the wee submarines

Were amazing.

Little plastic models of The Horned King

Were amazing.

Simpler times…

🙂

dr who cards in weetabix, memories.

a
….and collecting tokens from packets of mash for a rubber mash Martian.

H+S has a lot to answer for.
I remember those submarines, they were great.
Feel genuinely a bit sad that a lot of today’s kids wouldn’t be interested in anything other than a computer game.
Not sure how many Airfix models would be sold today if it wasn’t for eager Dads reliving their childhood?

Children of the 70s may remember these:

I wrote to Weetabix when I got a packet with no Dr Who stand up figures and they sent me the full set. Probably my favourite piece of customer service ever.

Once found about 25 Power Ranger figurines in a box of corn flakes, king of the playground for about 5 minutes whilst they were swapped for other stuff.

Also found 2x £5 notes in mini cheders, rememeber when crisps had those blue packets that sometimes had vouchers, sometimes money in them? And how if you had a packet of Smiths Salt’n’shake the packet looked identical so you’d drop it in your mates bag?

Feel genuinely a bit sad that a lot of today’s kids wouldn’t be interested in anything other than a computer game

Don’t be silly. Kids are still kids.

My daughter got a dancing Minion in her box of Chococrispis last week. Plastic crap, nothing like as exciting as the plastic crap we used to get of course.

So Spanish cereals at least do still contain toys.

Don’t be silly. Kids are still kids.

Absolutely. My kids (6 years old) collect all the numbers to send away for free gifts from cereal packets.

It’s bloody annoying that, despite being loads of time left on a particular offer, they move on to the next – we probably have <1 required number for >1,000 offers…

I loved the little boats and submarines that you filled with baking powder (I think) to make them go.

Before we all start laying into the HSE – does anyone know what piece of legalisation stopped them putting the toys in?

Because I seem to remember it was actually legalisation to stop manufactures overly promoting unhealthy food to kids.

In any case, “elf and safety gone mad” rules are 99 times out of a 100 caused by someone making a dubious claim for ‘compo’ and the lawyers have banned it and not because some funkiller in a high viz has weighed in.

My favourite was the plastic kits of North Sea Gas rigs that were in Rice Crispies sometime around the early 1970’s

Ghostbusters sticker things in Shreddies were a real highlight. I might be showing my age…

Dungeons and dragons hologram cards.

Nope, you shoved your arm in up to the elbow and rootled about at the bottom for whatever poxy plastic rubbish lay inside.

Defo the start of my “problems” with other people touching or getting anywhere near my food…

Still got a few of the submarines, my 2 year old nephew (with the supervision of his mum who might just like them more than him) loves them!!

Nope, you shoved your arm in up to the elbow and rootled about at the bottom for whatever poxy plastic rubbish lay inside. 😆

Or be really ‘helpful’ and help load and unload the shopping from the car. Put the cereal box upside down and by the time you got home the toy had rattled it’s way to the ‘top’ ready for the big pour our the next morning

mogrim – Member
My daughter got a dancing Minion in her box of Chococrispis …..Spanish cereals at least do still contain toys

must be about 5 years since been to Spain do Spanish supermarkets still sell sweet cigarettes?

I remember a little green plastic Concorde, came with corn flakes I think.

Were there also wee boats that you put bicarbonate of soda in, and the fizz propelled them along?

In any case, “elf and safety gone mad” rules are 99 times out of a 100 caused by someone making a dubious claim for ‘compo’ and the lawyers have banned it and not because some funkiller in a high viz has weighed in.

I’d expect a good percentage are actually “rules” that someone somewhere made up and presented as fact when the truth is nothing of the sort.

See also, Muslims wanting to ban Christmas and a raft of other hoary old tabloid fodder.

After putting in ebay alerts, I now have a replenished collection of Tony reflectors, Kellogs cockerel reflectors and Tony stickers

must be about 5 years since been to Spain do Spanish supermarkets still sell sweet cigarettes?

Not noticed any in my local supermarkets, I’ll have a look tomorrow when I go shopping. If I remember.

Not sure it is Health and Safety because I had a box of American Lucky Charms around Christmas last year and that had a toy car in it. If you won’t get sued for it in America then it must be fine.

My brother and I used to insist on, and receive, a ‘young smoker’ selection box at xmas. Chocolate fags, pipe and matches, which we would puff on/eat on xmas morning

If small toys in food were banned by H&S then Kinder Eggs would have disappeared long ago!

Surely with the cycling boom happening Frosties should start giving away those reflectors again? They’d sell box-loads to the parents if anything 🙂

I feel this is the point in these “where did they go” threads to mention white dog shit

I feel this is the point in these “where did they go” threads to mention white dog shit

lol,..there is barely dog shit at all now, let alone the rare white stuff, pure nostalgia,..thanks. 😀

No white dog muck – blame not feeding dogs bone meal, and the muck being bagged up.

No hedge pron – blame the web.

Ah, good times…

And what fool didn’t open cereal packet from the bottom, so you could get the toy?! Basics, people.

I saw an albino turd 2 days ago. True story.

I saw an albino turd 2 days ago. True story

Pics or it never happened!.

Regards there being less dog eggs about, all I can say is the Dog sh!t fairy must be on strike on the track near where I’am as its peppered with the stuff, to be fair most of its bagged up and swinging from branches like a badly decorated Xmas tree.

Flippa discs in shreddies were my favourite. Kids these days are so stupid they would try to eat them and their handler’s would try to sue, hence no toys anymore.

I feel this is the point in these “where did they go” threads to mention white dog shit
lol,..there is barely dog shit at all now, let alone the rare white stuff, pure nostalgia,..thanks.

Can I come and live where you are, then? I have to continually watch where I walk along the lane that leads into the industrial estate where I work, because it’s clearly the local community dog walk and toilet area. And has been for the last decade, but at least walking to work means I don’t get fresh wet dog shit splashed across my face from the front tyre, and all over the bike… 👿