just wanted to check about peanut butter and toddlers.

[meggymoo]

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well i thought it was the whole nuts you can't give til 5, cos of choking.

peanuts i think need to be avoided til about 3? if there is any family allergies, but else...don't know. 2 years?

have to admit ds had peanut butter at 18 months. Lots of times. Mmmmm.

My DS, a veggie, has had peanut butter from very very young-I think he had it on bits of bread as a baby (smooth natch) as it is a very good source of protein, fibre and good fats. He has always eaten nuts, under very careful supervision- his faves are brazils and cashews, he is 3.
There is no history of nut allergy (or any allergy for that matter) in our family so it wasnt a difficult descion to make.
Not saying you should do this as ultimately anything to do with your kids is your choice but my LO loves peanut butter!

I think there is a lot of different advice around. I was advised to avoid peanuts in pregnancy (there are quite a lot of allergies in my family) so I did; and not to give peanuts or food containing peanuts until DS is 3. I've told my HV I'll be giving him a PB sarnie in her clinic!!

I was speaking to my health visitor about this just the other day - she says peanut butter on toast (smooth not crunchy) is ok over 6 months of age if there is no history of allergy in your family. Obviously you can only give it this way if the baby has teeth/can chew, but from that I would say that a 17 month old should be safe with no allergies in the family.

I think if there is any hint of allergies esp peanuts in your family then you avoid for as long as poss, but my dd has had it from 6 mth and at 3 yrs she adores crucnhy butter and eats all kinds of nuts once they;ve been crushed down for her.

My DS had a single peanut when he was slightly over 2 yrs old, and he developed nut allergy. Lots of people here often think that we, mums of very allergic children, are over reacting, but considering that we have no allergies in the family, and DH and I came from countries where nut allergies are unheard of, I suppose that if I had the chance to turn back time and ask the same question again I would ignore the midwife, hvs and GPs who not knowing anything about allergies swear that peanut butter is OK, I would ignore all the mothers who have used it (including mine) whose children had never a problem with it, and follow the guidelines, I would wait until DS was 3 or probably five, as someone said in another thread, a moment of pleasure doesn't justify a lifelong of misery. Giving nuts to under 3s is like playing russian roulette, you are likely to be fine but you may, as some of us had, get the shot .

Appologies if I seem OTT, I have just got very bad news about DS allergies and I a bit sensitive about the subject. sorry

Chandra, I can understand your feelings and it must be awful having a child with allergies, but is there any evidence that if he'd had the peanut at, say 10, he wouldn't have the same allergies? I honestly don't know and wondered.

Aloha, the problem with nuts and toddlers is that young children's diggestive systems are not developed enough to break efficiently the proteins of nuts. Yes, he, you or me can develop an allergy at 10, 40 or 50 yrs old, but small children are at a higher risk of developing a nut allergy because the characteristics of their digestive systems. Unfortunately, there's very little onformation about it, so you only learned about these things once you have got one (and then you have the paediatrician telling you what on earth where you thinking by giving nuts to a toddler but... you only get to see the paediatricain once your child has got a bad reaction).

I thought Ds was going to be fine... he wasn't. Would you allow your toddler to cross a street without holding your hand? he may be fine but you can't insure he will be completely safe until you hold his hand (sometimes not even then). Is the same with nut allergies.

Chandra, I really don't think you are over-reacting, but am also very interested as to whether having a peanut or whatever can actually trigger a nut allergy, or whether they would have developed the allergy anyway. Interested because I have a 3 month old dd so need to think about weaning in the not too far off.

Like other posters we are vegetarian so have to balance the possible, small risk of a peanut allergy against the fact that peanuts are a fantastic source of protein and lots of other things, so veggie kids need to get used to the taste IMO. Pretty much all complete proteins ex meat can trigger allergies (even Quorn!), so this is a real problem for vegetarians.

Ah, sorry, cross posting, question answered.

meggymoo we have no allergies, asthma or eczema in our family yet my ds2 is allergic to nuts. He has not yet eaten one but it was picked up through skin testing for allergy after reacting to wheat. My other two children are fine and I smugly KNEW this would NEVER happen to us. Life with a nut allergic child is very stressful and draining due to amount of nuts in foods (even some dog foods contain pb) the ignorance and attitude of people who know nothing about it and don't care to find out. I am sure your ds is probably fine but for the sake of waiting 19 months compared to a lifetime of serious risk my advice would be to wait.

meggymoo if you ask on this board where people know how difficult life can be with a severe allergy you are likely to be told at least 3

The problem with giving peanut butter to young children is, as Chandra said, that their digestive system and immune systems are not as well developed as adults. Therefore the later they are given nuts the better. Also if they do have swelling in their throat they can't tell you so first reactions in young children are hard to spot. Therefore the first you know of it tends to be with a life threatening reaction. which is obviously frightening. However by age 3 most children in Britain will already have been exposed to peanut protein because it is so many other foods.

If I could turn back time I'd have kept my house free of any food that might possibly have contained nut protein. I don't know if that would have prevented her allergy, but at least I would have given it my best shot.

If I was veggie I'd still feed a baby meat for the first few years. However lentils are good protein and not that allergenic. Beans other than soya are good too.

merglemergle meat can and does trigger anaphylaxis in some people. A search for allergies on the net will reveal that there are no real "safe" foods anymore.

Dear Chandra, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for your experience with this and to thank you for sharing the information. My DS will not be having peanuts for several more years now thanks to this information from you. I hope your little man is OK.

sorry if slightly off subject but can anyone tell me about sesame seeds? My ds is just over one and i would like to introduce hummus into his rather limited [gluten free dairy free] diet. His previous food allergies have manifested only as blood in stools and diarrhea. My dietician is pretty useless [try it and see approach] She may be right but is there any set standard for sesame seeds and time of introduction?

ruty my ds is allergic to wheat, dairy, fish egg and nuts but is okay with sesame. I don't really know about age to introduce I waited for skin testing before introducing sesame. Perhaps you could rub a little on his skin to see if he has a skin reaction first. I know of a little boy who has had blood in his stools since birth, yet he has tested negative to allergies. Did your ds have a skin reaction as well or only the blood???

Not until 3 if there is any of this in the family:

Allergic to anything (includes tingly mouth, can't eat that it gives me the squits, I get a funny rash if I eat that)
Asthma
Hayfever
Eczema

So most people should avoid. Ds has a soy butter which I use for sandwiches.

I am due in the next couple of weeks and have taken the super cautious route during pregnancy due to allergies on both sides of the family (not nut allergies, but just the usual hayfever, asthma, excema, animal allergies etc). I plan to continue avoiding peanuts whilst bf and not feed them to my child until he is over 5.

As others have said, better to be safe than sorry.

bobby bob, sorry , were you saying no sesame until 3 if allergies in the family or peanuts? I have asthma but i have no food allergies as far as i know. Mymama, ds did have a bit of eczema at the time as well, but not a huge amount, just a bit on his forehead. It was the blood in the stools that landed us in hospital, where they diagnosed food allergies, even tho he was entirely breastfed at the time. Its always been a bit mysterious the whole thing, i tried many food eliminations in my diet which didn't work, and the thing only resolved when we put him on neocate formula, reluctantly, at 6 month, tho i still breastfeed too and eliminate dairy and gluten from my own diet. We seem to have it under control now, but i'm still mystified by cause.

Ruty, TBH I'm not sure, we see sesame seeds as soemthing to avoid, like an attachment to his nut allergy (as well as soya). But TBH I don't know if he is intolerant because he has nut allergy or if they inter related at all.