Stop giving that baby peanut butter!

What do you say to an aquaitence who is feeding her 8mo old a desert with peanut butter in it because she heard from a friend that "allergies being caused by eating something too young is a myth"?

 

She's right. There is very recent research that indicates that early introduction of certain foods has no effect on the risk of allergies. Even if I didn't know that, I probably would keep my thoughts to myself. It's not like she's feeding the kid vodka or something. I often see parents giving their kids (and babies) foods that I would not have given my kids at that age but they're not my kids so I don't have a say in the matter. IMO.

 

Well, to be frank, I have been there as to what you are describing, on both sides. IMO, you say nothing. It is not your child and you wouldn't want someone commenting on your choices unless you asked for their feedback. That being said, peanut allergies are not something I want to mess with personally until my girls are a little older if it is going to happen. Many children do not outgrow peanut allergy the way they can outgrow milk or egg allergy, so it will show up at 3 or 4, or right now at 8 mos if her baby is going to have it. So her statement as read to me is not correct, but not entirely incorrect when it comes to certain types of allergies. Now, if I was an absolute expert in something, I might feel differently. But I have had enough people trying to influence me (without my asking) that I now know that I am the best decision maker for my child. Hope you get a few points of view - this is just one. For the record would I have given them PB at 8 mos? Absolutely not! So I feel your question but I think it best to let it go.

 

To an acquaintance, nothing. To a friend, I might comment, but like the pp, I've seen people feed babies/toddlers all kinds of things I never would have fed mine because they were inappropriate for the age, i.e., choke hazard, sodas, etc, and dont' say anything. That's their call to make.

 

I read about this, too. And I give all sorts of things to my kids, but peanut butter is not one of them.
I wouldn't say anything either.

 

Agreed. :acute: There are even some studies that claim that early exposure to allergens may help children *avoid* allergies: http://www.jacionline.org/webfiles/images/journals/ymai/Peanut_Consumption.pdf

The reason that they say not to give it early is because a serious allergic reaction is a bigger deal for an infant than for an older child. It's like when you have a newborn and they say not to let anyone touch the baby; it's not that you don't ever want the child to get sick, it's that an illness that an older baby can shake off could be life-threatening in a newborn.

That being said, I wouldn't (and didn't) feed my infants peanut butter but I probably wouldn't say anything to someone who was. From what I understand, the most popular baby snack in Israel is made from peanuts, and this mother could be from Israel for all I know. ardon:

 

100% agree.

our pediatrician told us to go ahead and offer the boys peanut butter fairly early on because recent studies have shown that cultures who provide very early introduction of these allergens have very low allergy rates. if there's no history of food allergies in the family, that is. other studies, on the other hand, have shown that if you wait, you might be better off waiting as long as 3 years to introduce the potential allergen.

nothing is conclusive, unfortunately. i followed my pedi's advice because i was already leaning towards agreement with the studies conducted in societies that introduce peanut products early. when my pedi agreed that he also favored those studies, i went home and (nervously) introduced peanut butter.

additionally, this may not have been her first time introducing peanuts. if they had it once and were fine, then they're fine. peanut butter desert or not.

 

I agree that I would say nothing. It's a parenting choice & regardless of my personal opinions, I would not say anything to an acquaintance about their choices. ardon:

 

Not a thing.

 

I totally agree with this :good: I don't know what people have going on personally or the health issues of that child, so I would not say a thing. It's none of my business.

 

Well, I would say "Here's a baby wipe. Please wipe his hands when he is done 'cause I am super allergic to peanuts." But, that would be my only reason for speaking up since it really is none of my concern what other people feed their kids.

BTW--we are delaying peanuts. Partly cause I react just from touching that stuff (and I am both the feeder and cleaner-upper) and partly because I think a 3 year old can better communicate if he/she is having an allergic reaction--for example, an 8 month old can't say "my lip feels tingly."

 

I agree with the others, say nothing! Unless it was something extremely dangerous I wouldn't say anything to an acquaintance, friend or family member... not my business.

 

I also agree with pp. I too have heard that it may be best to give them the high allergen food earlier, instead of later, as it could be worse to wait so long. I would have done pb earlier, but my nephew does have a cashew allergy, so my pedi said I could wait if I wanted to. Just like I saw a mother give her child-under a year old-soda and said nothing, I would do the same to the mother who is giving her infant peanut butter.

I have a friend who has an extreme fear of choking and allergies. She's always very shocked if I mention my child had _____________. I know her son just turned four, and I'm not sure he's had popcorn yet. I know she thinks I'm crazy because at two, my kids have had popcorn. :laughing:

 

I agree. It makes me cringe to see kids running around with sippies (or worse, bottles) filled with juice, koolaid, etc. I want to say, "why don't you just pull their teeth now, since they're all going to rot out anyway!". But, to each his own.

As far as the allergy debate goes, another piece of the picture is that if a mom is breastfeeding, the baby is exposed to food proteins mom eats at a very early age.

 

Yet another benefit to formula feeding! :ibiggrin:

Isn't peanut butter one of those things that is a choking hazard also? Or is it just chunky peanut butter?

 

agree on point that bf babies are exposed to protein through mom. i have one who is sensitive to dairy and she reacts whether she eats it (yogurt) or me. so if you have eaten pb or peanuts (i live on it) and you bf with no problem, it's unlikely that your kiddos will have trouble.

 

spoonfuls of PB are the hazard, although both my kids had PB off the spoon from about 2 forward...one of my son's favorite snacks!

 

I am a FREAK about peanut butter. I don't even want to touch my kids if I have been eating it.