What's the deal with waiting on the peanuts? (toddlers and allergies)?

Question

Everyone always says (pediatricians as well) that toddlers should not have peanuts/peanut butter until age 2; 3 if allergies run in the family.

But what about the fact that parents still give their under-twos chocolate (most of which is processed in peanut factories)? Parents feed their children fast food and Oriental foods, often fried in peanut oils. They feed their children crackers and pretzels, which also are often from the same peanut factories.

So really, what's the big deal when the under-twos are probably getting peanuts in their system regardless, unless the parents are super-vigilant about looking for these things (which I'd bet most aren't and I bet most peds aren't telling them to read every label of every food and fast food).

Peanut is peanut. Once it's in the system, it's in the system, whether it was introduced as the nut, as butter, as oil or as peanut dust.

Anyone care to help me figure this out?

Answer 1

my sister is vigilant about it and there are no peanut allergies in our family ( i think shes crazy) she says small children cant tell you if they feel like they're having or about to have an allergic reaction. (she's that way about strawberries and things too..and again no known allergies in our family)

i figure i can tell if my kid cant breathe or breaks out. w/o them having to tell me.

and you're absolutely right peanuts are every where so they probabaly have come in contact with small variations of them. althought probably not enought to cause a reaction if they are allergic. (not everyone is severly allergic to where even the dust causes reactions)

i think we shelter our kids from too many things and instead of keeping their immune system strong it makes it weaker by making it think there's nothing out there it needs to learn to fight off. then when something does come along (i.e. a peanut) it freaks out and doesnt know what to do beacuse it's never had exposure to it. Kind of the way vaccines work...you get exposed to the illness so that when you come in contact with it, you're body already knows what to do to fight it off.


outside of allergies, i agree it could be choking hazards. but thats why i dont give my small ones whole peanuts and i use only a thin layer of peanut butter on their sandwiches

Answer 2

Unless your child is EXTREMELY allergic to peanuts, the minute amount of peanut residue they would get from chocolate or oil shouldn't be a problem, whereas the actual nuts would be. Peanut allergy symptoms usually start out with a feeling of "thickness" in the throat, causing trouble breathing. A very young child may not be able to tell you about his throat closing up before it is too late. Also, peanuts and peanut butter present a choking hazard.

These are the reasons doctors say leave them be for a while, but you are the parent, judge for yourself what is right for your child.

Answer 3

I never heard that you couldn't give a child peanuts until 2 or 3, but it's been a while since I've had a youngling. As a parent of a child with peanut allergies, the reaction can be very bad and maybe a young child can't handle it as well as an older one? I've heard that peanut oil doesn't cause problems, but we have never tested that theory. I had six kids, and with each one there were new rules, and I always wondered how the first one survived without all the precautions I was told to take with the sixth one!

Answer 4

I think it's a symptom of an alarmist society! Yes, some people are allergic to peanuts and they probably would benefit from being introduced at an older age, but I think this is the first generation to worry about it at all. When we were kids we were eating peanut butter sandwiches when we were a year old. I think a bigger issue with peanut butter is choking. IT has a tendency to stick in toddlers small throats. Maybe that is why they say to hold off?

Answer 5

When my kids went on to table food, at about a year old, one of the first things they had was peanut butter on toast. We don't have peanut allergies in our family, so I didn't expect a problem and we didn't have any problems. P.B. is one of their favorite foods now. I waited to feed them the actual peanuts because of choking until I was sure they could chew them well enough.

I also gave my kids eggs, the white and the yolk.

The only time I am vigilant about things being nut free is when I make my lunch to take to the school I work in. It is completely nut free.

Go with your own gut feelings. If you want your child to try it, go ahead. I did!

Answer 6

it's not all about allergic reaction. Peanut butter is extremely had to swallow. I have issues when it gets stuck to the roof of my mouth and when you give it to a child too young that doesn't expect the pasty texture it could panic them or cause them to gag or choke.

Answer 7

its just something you dont feed your kids at an early age because it can do a chemical reaction and make them allergic...i dunno thats what the doc told me..so who knows...it makes me wonder too!