I like cereal in the morning but I combine a lot of ingredients into it depending on what I have in the house and how active I think I'm going to be. I like to add more nuts into the mix if I think I need more sustained energy. There are a few good cereals on the market but I don't just eat them as they come. Fruit, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds are a few of my favorite things to add. I've been enjoying adding cumin to the mix too - I've heard it helps reduce inflammation and I like the taste.
A lot of products are not as nice as they used to be and frankly many cereals were not that nutritious to begin with. I have noticed things changing too.
My Mom eats cereal frequently and she is always adding some sliced bananas or the such. She mostly eats some sort of bran flakes with raisins or shredded wheat. I never really thought a lot about buying a cereal and other ingredients to go with/in it... till now, but I still can't see me doing it very much. That is interesting about adding cumin. Something worth thinking about.
You are totally right about the many cereals that have no nutritional value. Of course I wasn't thinking about that as a kid when I enjoyed a sugary bowl of something. I'm kind of surprised that so many of that type are still on the shelves and apparently selling well in these days when folks are more aware of what's in them.... .and what's not.