Toddler is 22 months.. not yet tried peanuts/nuts. Advice please?

[WeeG123]

Hi everyone.

Our 22-months-old son has not yet been exposed to peanuts/nuts. When he was born, he had Cow’s Milk Allergy where his nappies were wild with blood in them and also a really bad reaction. His skin can flare up again every now and then with eczema but he’s a very happy boy who eats fairly well. He seems to have outgrown his Cow Milk Allergy and can take milk in his cereal/snacks that include dairy.

Due to the fact he had CMA, my partner and I have put off exposing him to nuts. We are terrified to try it incase he has a severe/dangerous reaction. We don’t eat peanut butter or any nuts ourselves as we don’t like them and that’s probably why we’ve strung it out for so long too.

Any advice on what to do with this situation would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I’d give him a bit of peanut butter during a weekday daytime when medical facilities are all open. He’ll more than likely be absolutely fine. If you want to be super cautious go the the cafe at your local A&E and give him the nuts there.

If you’re nervous you can smear some on his cheek then his lips then give him a small amount

the current advice is not to put peanut butter on skin. Rubbing peanut butter on the skin, especially on a child's skin, can actually sensitize them to the allergen and potentially increase their risk of developing an allergy.

I know of some parents who were particularly anxious so gave peanut butter muffins/pb on toast in the car/picnic by a Dr's surgery lol. I would go with same as milk ladder.. baked in muffins.. then different nut butters on toast. Crack on with it! Nuts are yummy. Have you tried cashew butter in a smoothie or cooking with coconut milk. Chicken in a satay sauce is nice too.
One of my DS had cmpa and cashew/tree nut allergy. Grew out of them both by 4 with exposure to small amounts and milk ladder, with consultant advice.