can they have peanut butter?

we haven't had our WBV for our 1 year appt yet and i was going to ask then. a lot of mommies i see give their LO's peanut butter/jelly, etc.
can i give them peanut butter?

 

It depends on previous allergies mostly. . .

Is there a history of any nut food allergies in your family? Are they allergic to milk?

If not, I think that a lot of people feel safe to give their kids PB after age 1. (Mine got it at 10 months) I would makes sure to do it on a day that you plan on being home with them so that way if there was a reaction you could gauge the seriousness of it and call EMS or the Pediatrician's office if necessary.

 

I agree...if there are any history of allergies in either family hold off until after your WBV. Otherwise go ahead and give them a tiny bit and see how they do! Make sure its spread thin so they don't choke Mine love honey and PB sandwiches!

 

i believe the "official" position is not until after 2 or 3 if there isn't a history of allergies and not until after 5 if there is. all doctors seem to have a different feeling on it though. we gave PB after a year - just go slow & remember that sometimes reactions don't show up until you've tried a new food a couple of times.

 

Our ped gave us the go ahead at a year. We have no allergies in the family but we were really careful the first couple times we gave it. However mine hate pb so I no longer have to worry about giving it :headbang: :laughing:

 

We do not have nut allergies in the family, so we got the okay for PB after the 1st year WBV. My two did not like it at first, now my DS loves it and DD could take it or leave it.

 

We gave it after a year and introduced it by giving the peanut butter/cheese crackers. The pb isn't that thick.

 

We gave it at just over 1 year; we have no history of food allergies, so the ped okayed it. A word of advice: make sure you have some children's Benadryl on-hand and know the appropriate dosage for your LO's age/weight before you give PB for the first time. On the slight chance that they have a reaction, you don't want to be panicking to get them to the ER or guessing about how much to give them.

 

well if peanut butter is ok, then what about honey, I know that honey could contain botulisum and thats why they can't have it, but for how long? ANd the other day I found out my mother in law has been giving the boys honey nut cheerios lol I give them plain, I was mad at first but then thought they are only cheerios its not like they ate a spoonful of honey and peanut butter.

 

Everything I've read seems to indicate that children can have honey after 12 months. At 1 year their digestive tracts are mature enough to handle any possible botulinum spores that might be in the honey.

 

Products made with honey, such as Honey Nut Cheerios, are fine even before 1 year because the processed-food manufacturing process heats foods at such high temperatures it kills the botulism spores. But, generally, yeah, honey after 1 year. My pediatrician said no peanut butter until after age 2, but he's a pretty conservative doctor. I have friends who gave their children peanut butter for the first time while sitting in the parking lot of the pediatrician's office just in case the kids had a reaction. That's a thought . . . Maybe give them a taste just before you go into the pedi's office for their one-year WBV?

 

Our ped actually said no PB until they turned THREE. But I gave it to them at around 20 months, mstly just because it was getting too inconvenient to avoid nuts, and we hadn't had any prior food issues.

 

We have not had PB yet, mostly because I know a couple families with a peanut allergy and have seen their troubles and noooooo thank you. I was getting antsy though and someone suggested almond butter. They LOVE it! I got it at whole foods. We don't have a history of any allergies so I may try it soon, but waiting for a good reason.

 

Ironically enough, Nate ended up with an almond allergy (found through testing) and we almost never served almonds or any tree nuts. ardon: But he does just fine with peanut butter (we tested for that too)!

 

We've been told age 3 for peanut butter even if there are no allergies in the family & 5 if there are family allergies. Honey is supposed to be okay at age 1.

 

[quote name='Nate and Jack's Mom' date='24 June 2010 - 12:10 PM' timestamp='1277406605' post='1655404']
Ironically enough, Nate ended up with an almond allergy (found through testing) and we almost never served almonds or any tree nuts. ardon: But he does just fine with peanut butter (we tested for that too)!
[/quote]
I have an almond allergy but I'm okay with peanuts too. I was told to be careful of any fruits with an almond shaped pit (cherries, peaches, apricots, etc.), they are related & can cause cross-reactions.

 

Wow, our allergist never mentioned that! I need to call them...

 

Just a thought for those of you about to give peanut butter for the first time. Peanut butter allergies almost never show up on the first taste of PB. They show up on the third, or fourth, or fifth... however long it takes a child's body to develop enough reaction to the allergen. So, you don't need to sit outside your Pedi's office the first time you give PB. But you should watch your child (ie - stay in the same room) for 10-15 minutes after your child eats PB the first five or six times.

One of my twin girls has a peanut allergy. We have no history of allergies in our family, and her identical twin sister isn't allergic. We found out Piper was allergic when her face swelled up about 10 minutes after eating peanut butter for the fourth time. No symptoms whatsoever the first three times.

The pediatric allergist we go to is fantastic and has given me all sorts of information to read. There's no correlation between when you give peanut butter and your child's chance of developing an allergy. If your child is going to be allergic, she'll be allergic at one year old, two years old or three years old. So give the peanut butter now and you'll know. Waiting just delays finding out.

 

Thanks for posting this. The woman I know with two sons with peanut allergies has been through a couple of scary incidents. I think from witnessing that I am willing to wait until they can at least talk a bit. IMO, one of the scarier reactions I have read about. Eek.

 

My husband is allergic to tree nuts, so our ped asked us to wait on all nuts until 3. He said that it's not so much about avoiding getting an allergy, but that a bigger child can tolerate a reaction better. So, we're waiting. Although, we did try sunflower seed butter (found it at Trader Joe's) and the kids did not like it at all, so my guess is PB would be the same!