Age to Safely Have Peanut Butter?

Hi J.,
I somehow missed the pediatrician lecture on peanuts, and gave our daughter peanut butter on her toast from the time she was about a year old or so. I didn't think anything of it until our doctor asked what foods she was eating and I told him, and got a huge talking-to about it. I figured, what the heck, she hasn't reacted, she clearly isn't allergic, and she loves it, so I'm just going to go with it. I ended up doing the same thing with my second child and it was fine. I should say though that there is no history of any kind of food allergy on either side of our family so there was not much risk in my case.

My take on this would be that if your son has had peanut butter a bunch of times with no reaction, then he's probably fine with it. But - to me the larger question is, why is your daycare provider feeding your son things you don't want him to have?

Peanuts make the top of the big 8 list of food allergies but there really is no definitive answer to this question. Much depends on your family history. If you or anyone in your child's family has a food allergy or allergic type disorder (like asthma or eczema) or if your child has had a food allergy in the past, then you should wait to introduce peanuts and peanut butter. How long? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you should wait until your child is 3 years old.
In addition, mothers with any history of a peanut allergy in the family should avoid peanuts and peanut butter in the third trimester of pregnancy and for as long as they are nursing their children.

If there is none of the above in you or your child's history, however, then peanut butter can be a healthy addition to the diet when your child turns 1 year old. Just be sure to avoid giving big spoonfuls of peanut butter and never give children under 3 years of age whole peanuts because these pose a choking hazard.

With all that said, be aware that a peanut allergy can be severe, lifelong and potentially deadly. Look for signs of an allergic reaction such as:

hives
difficulty breathing or asthma symptoms
swelling of the mouth or throat
vomiting or diarrhea
loss of consciousness
These signs can appear in just minutes or they make take hours, so be watchful during this time and do not wait to call 9-1-1 or your health care provider. Call immediately!

If you are concerned about your child having a peanut allergy, the only real way to avoid the danger is to avoid peanuts and peanut butter altogether. But be aware that for the majority of children, there is no danger.

Has your son had a reaction? If not then I'm sure he's ok with nuts.

I have 2 kids - 3 years and 18 months. I can't remember when my first started having peanut butter but it was probably later than my 18 month old since my 3 year old eats PB&J so we have it around more. My dr never said anything specific about introducing peanut butter but I wanted to wait until at least 1 year and that is when I tried things like eggs (my first had a slight allergy to mayonaise based products), strawberries, etc. I waited until my second was about 14 months old with the PB and I think he had a ritz peanut butter cracker bite and I watched him like a hawk. Since then I gave him peanut butter every now and then and just watched him (and because I'm paranoid..never before I put him down for a nap or at night). Now he has peanut butter maybe twice a week (on an english muffin or something) and I still watch him but I think he is okay. I guess at some point you have to just bite the bullet and see if he has the allergy. Its one way I can get a little bit of protein in him because he's a picky eater. I do, however, find it a bit odd that the daycare provider has any peanut butter around - all 3 centers that my sons have been in have a ban on peanut butter products just to avoid any potential reaction by anyone. If I were you I'd recommend this to your provider and also it seems odd to me that she doesn't get the okay from you on new foods / potential allergies. My sons school has a checklist and they don't introduce anything that has not been checked off without having you give the okay.

we found out peanut allergies are not typically genetic. we were told to wait until 12 months. my nephew is incredibly allergic to peanuts, needs the epi pen etc. no one else in the family is. our daughter is fine and eats pb&j sandwiches and loves them. she is 16 months old.

J.,

The reason to wait is because p.butter can be deadly if they have an allergy but if she had some and no reaction its a moot-point now
My kids all got it much earlier just because I had no idea it might be a problem. if your son was allergic you would have known the first time no doubt!!!

Happy Peanut Butter!!!
C. :o)

I was strict about no PB til 3 b/c I have friends with kidswith severe peanut allergies, and I know how tough it is for them. However, in your case, if he has already had it several times and no allergic reaction, then he is fine I would think.

How funny, Im married to my eharmony match too!

There are peanuts in traces in nearly everything your child consumes - wether organic, kosher, or pre-packaged. Most large companies that process food in any form also process other foods that have peanuts, nuts in general, peanut oil, sesame oil (also from nut) and all sorts of other nut and peanut derivatives. I'd be willing to bet you $10 that if you go look up in your pantry/refrigerator and read the ingredient labels of the foods you commonly feed your child DO indeed have peanut product in them, in products you would NEVER think to have nuts as an ingredient. Your child has probably been consuming things with peanut in it for quite a long time now!

My pediatrician asked me if we had nut allergy in our family: we do not, and so she said to go ahead and let my kiddo have peanut butter. She was from that point on in LOVE with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and has had no reaction to this day.

So obviously your son has already had significant exposure to peanut butter, and is FINE. You do not have nut allergies in your family history, so I wouldn't worry about it! Let the child have peanut butter, its a really good source of protien.

My eldest child has a peanut allergy which require she carry an epipen. (thankfully she has not had occasion to use it) We have no family history of this allergy. We discovered her's when she was just shy of 2 years old. I had given her a Peanut Butter & jelly sandwich a few days before with no problems. It was her second exposure that we noticed her reaction. It was immediate. She one bite and refused any more (she never refuses food), but I pushed her to eat more. After her second bite I began to notice her face turning red, and welts began to appear. The reaction traveled, and soon covered her torso and down her arms. Luckily my Paramedic husband was home and reconized what was happening. We gave her benedryl and rushed to the hospital. We were told then that we should have waited to introduce PB until at least three. The offending alergen can be too much for underdeveloped immune systems to handle. On the flip side, I have good friends who have given all their kids PB starting around 18 months with no problems. YOu just can't know which kids will develope an allergy. I would wait, and firmly require daycare to respect your wishes. Peanut butter is not the only kid friendly food/snack out there.

One question to ask the daycare provider~is she ready to deal with a potential allergic reaction? And how?

I too held off on peanut products for my son. Thankfully he is not allergic but you never know until they have that first reaction. The funny thing with allergic reactions is that they can start after the food is thought to be safe. So just because you are eating it fine, does not meant that 2 weeks from now you or your child couldn't have an allergic reaction.