OT introducing peanut butter

[Limmer]

I am hoping to get to take a last minute trip in the next few months (before it will have to wait a while) and I was wondering how did you introduce peanut butter into your child's diet? My DD will be 2 in May and we have not given any to her but I would like to introduce it in case we get to go, it would be a great lunch. She has had ground pecans by mistake and no reaction but my brother has a pretty severe allergy. Any suggestions? (Husband and I have no food allergies)

 

[sharongl]

I have heard that you can test it by rubbing it on her arm. Mine had PB&J by accident at 11 months, so I didn't have to try.

 

[Lynne1]

I gave my daughter her first taste of pb about a half hour before leaving for her 2 year checkup at the doctor's office. She did not have a reaction, but at least if she did we were headed for the right place!

 

[Bird-Mom]

I am very allergic to peanuts and other nuts, so I haven't given it to my 4 year old yet. Rubbing on the arm is one way to try it, but also know that it can be the second exposure that will show a reaction. You might want to have some benadryl on hand just in case.

On the way to the doctor sounds like a great idea. I always joke with my dh that if I ever give the girls PB (or nuts for that matter), I will do it in the parking lot of the ER!

 

[penel3]

As both an RN and having a family history of anaphylactic peanut allergy, I agree with Sharong, rub on her arm first and observe for redness/rash to develop. If nothing, then you can have her try a small amount on a cracker. A child may not react the "first" time they are exposed to an allergen, but subsequent exposures will show a reaction. I was anal about keeping PB and nuts away from my DS until well after two years old. I was fortunate to have on-site child care (at a hospital) so, of course, that is where he first tried peanut butter, the safest environment possible!
Thank you for respecting the recommendation to wait until a child is 2 yrs old, I get frustrated with people who balk at that recommendation. They clearly have not witnessed the seriousness of this allergy.

 

[disneychrista]

I have never heard of waiting until 2 to introduced PB. With no family history of allergies, I just gave my kids PB without even thinking twice about it.

 

[Bird-Mom]

I actually think the current recommendation for PB is 3, isn't it? I do not know many people who actually wait that long though.

 

[laughinplace199]

I had read that you should wait until a child is 3 before giving peanut butter. So, I waited until DD was 3 and gave her some Reese's pieces and she had a major reaction! When DS turned 3 two years later, we gave him Reese's Pieces at the pediatrician's office. He did not react.

I would ask your pediatrician his/her opinion on what age to introduce peanut butter. Whenever you try it, make sure you have Benadryl in the house, just in case.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have never heard of waiting until 2 to introduced PB. With no family history of allergies, I just gave my kids PB without even thinking twice about it.

same here.. my 19mo eats PB&J Sandwiches. She also has had candy with PB in it.

 

[amarberry]

DD has another food allergy (eggs) so her allergist has recommended that we wait until she is 4 before trying peanut butter and even then we will have to give it to her at his office just in case.

DH and I have no food allergies, but my mother does. Personally, if you have a family history of food allergies you are better off waiting as long as you can because kids can outgrow food sensitivities. I understand how eager you are to have peanut butter as a lunch option (I wish my DD could eat peanut butter too!), but there are alternatives such as soy nut butter (if you know your child isn't allergic to soy!). The entire peanut allergy thing is just so frightening to me.

 

[jeancbpugh]

(Husband and I have no food allergies)

Noone in my family nor my husband's family had food allergies.

My youngest son has serious peanut allergy. I found out by giving him a small piece of peanut butter sandwich when he was 14 months old. (This was before they said to wait until 2 or 3)

Seems to me with some allergy in your family (your brother), you should wait.

Trust me, the hassle factor of an allergy is huge.

 

[J&D]

Our ped said to wait until they are 3.

 

[munchkinsmom]

Noone in my family nor my husband's family had food allergies.

My youngest son has serious peanut allergy. I found out by giving him a small piece of peanut butter sandwich when he was 14 months old. (This was before they said to wait until 2 or 3)

Seems to me with some allergy in your family (your brother), you should wait.

Trust me, the hassle factor of an allergy is huge.

I have a similar experience: no history of allergies on either side of the family, gave our DD a very small dollop of peanut butter when she was 18 months and she had a reaction. Confirmed that she has an allergy to peanuts AND walnuts (found that out at her preschool when she bit into a muffin w/ walnuts).

I second the comment about the "hassle factor" of an allergy.

I'd wait as long as possible before giving peanut butter to your DC.

 

[Ava83]

I just aked DH (he works with allergists) and he said 3 was the age to test for reaction for peanut butter.

 

[daisyduck123]

My DS8 still has never tried anything with nuts in it...I'm thinking of having him try peanut butter soon. It would be nice if he likes it so he won't have to have bologna in his lunch all the time (I HATE the smell of bologna!).

He had a horrible milk allergy until he was two (if he touched it he got hives) or three, so we've just never tried peanuts, although his allergist said we could.

He's also never had chocolate (not even an M&M, won't try it) so there's no chance he's had a peanut from chocolate.

 

[marlynnp]

DD has another food allergy (eggs) so her allergist has recommended that we wait until she is 4 before trying peanut butter and even then we will have to give it to her at his office just in case.

Why in the world would the allergist do that? Order a RAST test.

Also, peanuts are members of the legume family, they are NOT nuts. Many people that are allergic to peanuts are also allergic to tree nuts BUT just because my child did not have an allergic reaction to a tree nut I would not assume they did not have a peanut allergy, especially with a family history of food/peanut allergies.

 

[amarberry]

Why in the world would the allergist do that? Order a RAST test.

Well, I'm certainly not an expert on this subject and I didn't have a lengthy discussion with our allergist regarding peanut introduction since DD is not even 2, but my understanding (and I could be wrong) is that a RAST test is not 100% accurate (it can have false positives and false negatives). I also don't think that it predicts the type of reaction a person with an allergy would have. I would think that it is pretty likely that our allergist would order a RAST test, but in an adundance of caution, would recommend initial administration of peanut butter in an environment where her reaction can be closely monitored since she has a history of severe food allergies. So far, DD has tested negative to peanut allergies with the skin prick test, but I think those tests have only a 70% accuracy.

 

[TinkerbellMama]

I didn't know anything about the 2/3 thing for peanut butter. Not having any food allergies whatsoever in our family (we avoid dairy like the plague, but by choice, initially...now we have an intolerance, of course), I never thought twice about it. I know my son has had some peanut butter...just a few bites...but I don't even remember when. He had to have been over a year old, though, since he didn't have ANYTHING other than breastmilk until he was 9 mos. old and was barely eating anything solid at 12 mos.
I will certainly do some more reading about peanut allergies now, but I guess I simply never worried about it, having had no experience with this issue.

 

[SylviaL]

Ask your pediatrician. There are no food allergies in my family, my husband's, or my brother-in-law's. However, both of my boys and my niece (sister's daughter) have very severe peanut/all tree nut allergies. We discovered that DS4 had a milk allergy when he was 11 mos. Because of that fact and his older niece has the peanut allergy, we actually had blood drawn and tested for other allergies. My boys (and my niece, too) were all exclusively breast-fed for the first year. When you do introduce it, do it like baby food. You would only give her a little bit once a day for a few days. DS4's first exposure to milk --nothing happened. The second time he was exposed, he broke out in horrible hives. I hope you daughter is not allergic to peanuts!