Think commercial. Lauri found plastic cereal dispensers “the kind you see at every breakfast buffet and college dining hall in America” through a restaurant-supply company after
a quick Internet search. She placed them on a low kitchen counter that the children Jack, eight; Lucy, five; and Henry, four can easily reach so they can serve themselves. “They just grab a bowl” from a stack on the built-in shelves, “open the spout, and they’re done,” says Lauri. Meanwhile, she and Douglas get to steal the occasional sleep-in.
Cereal DispensersFor commercial units:
Displays2Go, $215 each,
www.displays2go.com. For smaller ones: Fingerhut, $25 each,
www.fingerhut.com.