Last year I had the opportunity to host a Kellogg’s Love Your Cereal breakfast with friends and family. We learned more about Kellogg’s cereals and had a chance to ask questions directly from a Kellogg’s representative. This year, I’ve once again partnered with Kellogg’s and was part of the Ama Tu Cereal (Love Your Cereal) team they sponsored to the Blogalicious 2011 conference. I’m happy to partner with Kellogg’s again, as they’re a company that has been a part of my life since I can remember.

In Puerto Rico, and throughout much of the Caribbean and Latin America, we have a bad habit of calling things by the most popular name brand that makes it. So, for example, all pain killers are Tylenol, regardless of the actual brand. Likewise, for much of my childhood I heard my mami saying, “Quieres con fleik?” which translates to “Do you want some corn flakes?” It didn’t matter that she might have been talking about Frosted Flakes instead. Another way we referenced Frosted Flakes in our house was to simply call it “El Tigre” (The Tiger), due to Tony the Tiger of course! To this day, Frosted Flakes is still my brother’s favorite cereal and it’s probably my husband’s too.

As part of my work with the Kellogg’s Ama Tu Cereal team at Blogalicious, I helped provide information on how Latina moms responded to Kellogg’s Breakfast in America survey. The survey found that 9 out of 10 Latina moms want their kids to eat breakfast every day, but unfortunately, 40% said their kids did not. However, almost 40% did say they ensure their children have breakfast daily. Additionally, Latina moms are 20% more likely than moms overall to get up early to prepare their children’s breakfast. And, it was found that Latina moms are 17% more likely than moms overall to say their family brings breakfast to work or school.

I know that it gets hectic in the morning as the entire household works to get ready for school and work. I admit that my husband and I are not good about eating breakfast and most days skip it. However, we make sure baby girl eats breakfast every day. It’s not always fancy, and sometimes it is a bowl of cereal, but she always eats something in the morning.

What are some favorite breakfast foods for your family?

Disclosure: Kellogg’s was a sponsor for the Blogalicious 2011 conference and I was compensated for my work.

Cereal photo: Mike Johnson – TheBusyBrain.com

This post is part of a paid campaign.

Do you remember how old you were when your mother began teaching you how to clean? Or did she? I can’t really remember exactly how old I was when I began to learn. I do, however, have memories of being 8 or 9 years old and coming home after school to a list of chores that included tasks such as sweeping, vacuuming, and cleaning the bathroom.

It used to irk me to no end that I was expected to help with such chores, while my 16 year old brother was not. By that age we were no longer living in Puerto Rico, and being influenced by my new peers and their way of thinking, I would sometimes question why I had to clean and he did not. “Porque tú tienes que aprender como limpiar y cocinar para que cuando tengas tu propia casa y marido sepas mantenerla.” (Because you need to learn how to clean and cook so that when you have your own home and husband, you’ll know how to maintain it.) That was the answer I would receive from my mother and yes, I am very much aware how antiquated it was. Even then, it seemed odd to me.

Yet, for all the complaining I did and the old-fashioned thinking my mom had at the time, I now find myself saying things like, “I’m glad my mom taught me how to properly clean and cook.” The husband appreciates it too and will often boast to his friends and family when they compare notes on “the wives.”

So, it seems, that learning cleaning rituals and tips from your mother, is a big part of many Latinas’ childhood, as is true for me. So much so, that a recent study conducted by Garcia Research, found that “93% of Latinas helped their mothers clean as a child with sweeping, mopping and washing dishes.” That’s a lot of little girls complaining about chores, much like I did.

But, even more interesting were some other findings of this study that resonated with me. It’s almost as if they came to my house and observed my own cleaning habits.

• More than half of Latinas prefer certain elements of old-fashioned cleaning, such as washing dishes by hand instead of dishwasher (83 percent), mopping the floors with a regular mop or by hand (73 percent). Most preferred this old fashioned approach because it’s what they are used to and plus it was “a better clean.”

Yes! I almost always wash dishes by hand. It’s only been in the past few months that we’ve begun to use the dishwasher more. My mother doesn’t even use hers at all and uses it instead for storage. I’m not sure what the other 27% of people are doing for their floors if they’re not mopping with a regular mop. I always tell my husband, “This is how my mom taught me. It’s the only way I know how to do it and it works!” So, yeah. It seems the majority of Latinas are in agreement with me regarding cleaning rituals we learned from our mamis.

• Music is an integral part of the cleaning routine with Spanish pop being the favorite playlist among 53 percent.
  

Ok, this one is a little different for me. While music is a big part of my cleaning routine – I always blast the radio to get me going while I clean – I don’t listen to Spanish pop. Well, I guess it actually depends on what this study considers to be Spanish pop. I tend to listen to more upbeat music, including merengue, salsa, and English dance music, in order to keep my energy going. But, still. The fact that research confirms that most of us clean while listening to music amazes me.

It’s pretty amazing to see that so many Latinas have so much in common – even down to something as simple as cleaning. The study also found that “43% of Latinas report their significant others as helping with household cleaning – a surprising find, considering the long-standing myth that cleaning is a role predominantly performed by women.” How great is that? The myths are being debunked, even for Latino households. At first I thought that this finding was reflective of the newer generation of Latinas, such as myself. However, the participants in the study were Spanish-dominant (59%), Hispanic females between 25 to 54 years old living in the U.S.

Because the holiday season is upon us and many of us are preparing our homes for family gatherings and guests, it’s a high season for cleaning. Why not have some fun with it and join Clorox in a Holiday celebration? Clorox is currently hosting the Holiday Health Twitter Sweepstakes, where they’ll be giving away a weekly prize of a $50 American Express gift card for 5 weeks, plus a grand prize of a $100 American Express gift card at the end of the sweepstakes. To enter, just tweet how you’re helping to keep your family healthier during the holiday season, using the hashtag #cloroxfiestas. You can tweet in either English or Spanish. Official sweepstakes rules can be found both in English and Spanish. Good luck if you enter!

What cleaning ritual did you learn from your mom, aunt, grandmother, etc.? Will you teach the same traditions/rituals to your children?

Disclosure: This post was written in conjunction with a paid campaign on behalf of The Clorox Company, but all experiences, thoughts, and opinions are original.

A while back, I posted a list of 10 Blogs Worth Reading. A few more were added in the comments section of that post from readers.

Since then, I’ve come across many new blogs, but specifically, many that are written by fellow Latinos and Latinas. I’ve also connected with many Latinos on twitter and even spoke at the recent Latinos in Social Media conference held in Orlando.

I feel it’s only right to give some love today and highlight some new blogs that you may want to check out.

In no particular order…

10 Blogs Owned by Latino Bloggers and Latina Bloggers Worth Reading

1. Mami’s Time Out
2. Sofrito for Your Soul
3. Tiki Tiki Blog
4. SpanglishBaby
5. NY City Mama
6. Orlando Sentinel Hispanosphere
7. Speak Hispanic?
8. Latin Baby Book Club
9. Latina on a Mission
10. Mama Latina Tips

I hope you find some new friends in exploring their blogs. Let me know in the comments below of any others you enjoy reading! I know there’s many more out there.