I listened to a short but very interesting section on Saturday PM (5pm, Radio 4, 29/09/2018) where a consultant allergist was being interviewed in light of the tragic death of the young girl who died after eating a baguette 'contaminated' with sesame. There was some discussion about the fact that the incidence of allergies has been on the rise over the last couple of decades in line with the increasing lack of exposure to microbes and allergens - in other words, we live in an increasingly sterile society and babies/children do not get exposed to dirt and general detritus as much as previous generations did, meaning that their bodies never get a chance to develop any natural defences. The key point in all this is that to avoid a child developing a peanut allergy - ESPECIALLY if they are genetically vulnerable to this - is to expose the child to peanut in their diet early on, to give their system a chance to respond to it and develop an immunity. Obviously this does not mean giving a small child peanuts that they might choke on, but perhaps introduce a little bit of peanut butter or other foodstuffs that contain small amounts of nut. I am 62 (with kids & grandkids) but wanted so much to share this that I registered with Mumsnet simply to spread this message. The full interview is here starting at 21.20 m. (if you can stand the irritating interviewer rushing the doctor through it): www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/b0bkpjws. I have posted this in general health rather than allergies because I hope all parents will see it rather than those just looking for allergy discussions.