When and How to Introduce Peanuts

Once they are 1 yr old, it is ok to try nuts; introduce in small amts (maybe a little peanut butter, first). Just be prepared to go to the ER, if he shows any sign of alleric reaction (hives, rash, slowed breathing, etc.).

Like the previous poster said. I would avoid whole or even half peanuts as it is a choke hazard. But. as long as there is no family history, you could probably try peanut butter. Some doctors recommend to introduce them around 2, but my kids were eating cut up PB&J sandwiches at a year. You shouldnt put a thick layer of peanut butter on the bread though as it too can be a choke hazard. One thing I wanted to mention is that one of my daughters friends is allergic to them, and how they found out about her allergy is at one of their family gatherings she was handling the peanuts and passing them out to other family members (not eating them herself) and she had a reaction to them just handling them.

My Ped says you should not introduce peanut butter until the age of three because allergic reaction is on the rise but reason is unknown. I found this out when my 4 year old was two and I gave him a PB&J sandwich. He had welts/hives almost immediately develope around his mouth and down his neck. Peanut allery can be very life threatening in some people so I would wait. Now we have the Epi-Pen and the whole bit that goes woth that. Haven't had to use it because you learn how to read food labels really good. Plus peanut are a choking hazard for children. Also we have no peanut allergies that run in our family so I was shoked when he had it.

I would not give actual nuts as they can be a choking hazard at this age. Every doc is different, some may say 15 months, some may say 18 months. I would ask them first, but also just try peanut butter on bread or a cracker. My son did just fine. We have no history of peanut allergies.

My pediatrician says wait until they are TWO years old and if there is a family history of food allergies to wait until they are THREE years old. I have even read some places to wait until FOUR if there is a family history of food allergies! My son is allergic to tree nuts but NOT peanuts. For this reason my daughter was not allowed peanut butter until she was 3 and she is not allergic to any foods that we know of. Talk to your pediatrician at the next visit about your concerns.

The recommended age to introduce nuts seems to keep changing. It used to be 2yrs then 3 yrs and now it seems to be 1 yr. My daughter is currently 13 months and the nurse at our peds office indicated that we could introduce them to her now. She suggested rubbing a little bit of peanut butter on the outside of her lip and letting her lick it off. She said this will limit the amount that she gets and you can also see if there is an allergic reaction on the lip/face where you put the peanut butter. She said try this a couple times to verify that she does not have a reaction. The nurse also recommended having benedryl on hand just in case. I have not tried this with my daughter but plan to soon. Good luck!

Any time after 11 or 12 months is considered safe. Do it early in the day (breakfast or lunch) in a small amount (a tsp of peanut butter on a small piece of toast) and watch for any negative reaction for the rest of the day. Any major issues will show up right away. A rash can take longer, and small irritation can manifest itself in poop issues up to 24 hours later.

Peanuts are different than tree nuts, so if you see an issue, you can always try using cashew or almond butter instead. You can also get sunflower seed butter and soy nut butter that kids rarely have any issues with. We use sunflower seed butter for my son's school lunches because his preschool is peanut-free.

Our pediatrician tends to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to the letter of the law. With our son, we mentioned giving him peanut butter at 12 months, and he asked us to wait.

With our daughter (younger child), we mentioned something about knowing we needed to wait, and he said the AAP had changed their position. That kids can have anything as long as they have the appropriate ability to chew it.

With peanuts/peanut butter, specifically, he did say to try it in small quantities to see what the reaction would be. But, others are right, if there is not a family history, the chances of your child having an allergy are reduced.

Don't introduce peanuts before 2 years of age.

Hi M.,

Our son was accidently exposed to peanuts by another mom when he was about 15 months. He had a bad reaction, and we didn't know what caused it! When I called the other mom to ask what the kids had eaten she told me peanut butter crackers. I called my ped, and she told me to give him Benadryl. It calmed his hives and breathing within the hour. My advice is if you want to test it out - in a small dose, just have some Benadryl on hand just in case he does have a reaction. We do carry an epi-pen now, just as precaution, but he has learned (at 3) how to ask if something has peanuts and that he gets "sick" from them.

Actual peanuts are more of a choking hazard at this age, no allergy worries unless there's a family history (of any allergies, not just food, environmental too). My Ped. says peanut butter is fine after age 1. Your Ped. may say differently, I've heard some say 2yrs. I think for whole peanuts (and popcorn, grapes, etc.) Drs might say 3 or 5yrs even. But again, that's because of the risk of choking, not allergic reactions.

Hi M.,

I see that you already got an answer but my son is allergic to peanuts so I just wanted to offer a few pieces of advice. If there is any family history of allergies, wait to give peanuts until 3 years of age. Researchers believe that delaying giving peanuts until a later age can prevent an allergy from developing. I think that the American Academy of Pediatrics is now saying that all kids should wait until 3 because peanut allergies are becoming so common, but ask your pediatrician what they suggest.

The second thing is that it takes time to develop an allergy. You could give your son peanut butter now and nothing would happen, but the next time you feed it to him, that's when an allergic reaction could occur. It could even take several exposures to something before the allergic reaction happens. So when you do let him have the peanut butter, just give him a tiny bit the first couple of times.

If you are at all worried about him having an allergy, I would just wait to give him peanuts or peanut butter until he's older. He won't even know that he's missing anything until he's older. The other poster was right too - the actual nut could be a choking hazard and so could peanut butter because it clumps together so it might be best to wait anyway.

Try peanut butter FIRST. His digestive system will handle it better than the nuts and you'll know.