# can 16 month old have nuts?



## Natalie143 (May 14, 2007)

i've recently started giving my son cashew nuts and he loves it.. but then someone told me that a child under 2 shouldn't have nuts...

i make sure its not a choking hazard by cutting it up tiny.. but now im worried that i didnt do him any harm by giving him cashews... when are kids allowed to eat them?


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## MissMommyNiceNice (May 1, 2007)

There are two schools of thought. The no nuts before 2 crowd and then the others. My son has been having nuts since he was about 6 mos old. ONe of his first foods was maple walnut ice cream. I think unless you have a history of food allergies in your family, you're probably okay. Plus, the biggest concern is over peanuts, which are a legume and NOT a nut. Some of the research even suggests that NOT exposing your child to such foods under the age of two (when most lifelong immunities are earned) you are actually INCREASING their chance of food allergies because the reaction when they are finally exposed to the food is so severe. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'd say you're probably okay.


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## lexbeach (Mar 6, 2002)

There are two concerns: allergies and choking hazard. I, personally, am not especially concerned about food allergies in regards to nuts (zero family history of anything like that). But the choking hazard is real and exists even for chopped-up nuts (unless they're totally ground, it's an issue).

My ds aspirated (inhaled into his lung) 6 tiny chunks of peanut just after his second birthday. He had to have surgery to have them removed. The pediatric pulmonologist who did the surgery told me that the most common things he removes from kids' lungs are nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds, etc.) and raw carrots. I think it's something to do with the density of the food and the fact that it's so hard (but I'm not totally sure). My ds laughed with a chewed up peanut in his mouth, and the peanut chunks just went straight into his lung, but were too heavy for him to cough back up.

Lex


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

My DS' had nuts for months now (15 months), along with most everything else. As long as theres no family history of allergies, theres really no good reason to wait untill age x or y to give your child certain foods. There really isn't any good research to back up the delaying of certain allergenic foods.


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## MeredithMommy (Oct 24, 2004)

personally I think it depends on your baby. If your lo chews food well, and doesnt try to poke all the cashews in his mouth at once, and will stay seated to eat them, then I dont think it is an issue







Both my dds have eaten nuts by 12 months and they do very well with them.

I think it all boils down to what _you_ are comfortable with.


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## askew (Jun 15, 2006)

We do lots of nut butters, but not whole nuts yet. DS is 19 months.


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## kibba (Oct 11, 2005)

Food allergies don't run in our family, but we waited until 18 months. Last week I let her have a bite of some peanut satay....news flash, her face got red and she had hives all around her mouth.







Thankfully it wasn't worse. I would wait until 2, I don't see a reason to rush them getting nuts before then. It's not worth the risk.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

We stuck to ground up or backed into something nuts till DS was around 2. Even with ground up things like peanut butter we spread it thin.


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## MeltCandy88 (Jul 1, 2014)

mamadelbosque said:


> My DS' had nuts for months now (15 months), along with most everything else. As long as theres no family history of allergies, theres really no good reason to wait untill age x or y to give your child certain foods. There really isn't any good research to back up the delaying of certain allergenic foods.


Do you just serve nuts? Or do you use blender or whatever else to prevent choking? Can anyone else share their recipes?


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## muddie (Nov 10, 2014)

> The introduction of solid foods should not be delayed beyond 4 to 6 months of age. Delaying the introduction of potentially allergenic foods, even in infants at risk for food allergy, has not been clearly shown to be beneficial.


http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and...tion-of-allergies-and-asthma-in-children.aspx

AAAAI recommends early introduction of potentially allergenic foods individually with spacing so you can ID the source of any reactions.

The American Academy of Pediatricians recommended that the introduction of foods containing peanuts be delayed in 2000 and then in 2008 they withdrew that recommendation. I think the WHO still recommends delays but things are moving fast with lots of new research findings and changing recommendations. Here's an interesting article on the topic:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/07/the-peanut-puzzle

Here a study published very recently:



> A new study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggests that exposing infants who seem likely to develop a peanut allergy to peanuts before their first birthday helps prevent the allergy.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/23/peanut-allergy-cure/23883241/

Early solid food introduction for allergy prevention is not meant to significantly replace breast milk for nutrition.

Edit: This is introduction to foods containing nuts. It best to avoid whole nuts due to the choking hazard and also to avoid aspiration of nut dust and skins.


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