# would you let your toddler eat whole nuts?



## pacerobb (Sep 12, 2002)

I was picking my 21 mo old ds up from his daycare yesterday and he was eating nuts; cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, etc. He loved them which was exciting because he doesn't eat much and is only 21 lbs and I thought wow, something good for him that he likes!! But then I woke up last night worrying about him choking while eating these and now I am thinking of telling my provider to not allow him to eat them anymore? Would you/do you allow your toddler to eat nuts? Am I just being paranoid?
Thanks for your help, Robb


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## comet (Aug 22, 2002)

I didn't let my dd eat whole nuts at that age.


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## pinky (Nov 21, 2001)

My dd was always a very careful chewer, and I let her eat whole nuts at a fairly early age. We did have a nut crisis, however...At about 23 months, she put a (shelled) pistachio up her nose! I was lucky that she was so verbal, b/c honestly I wouldn't have known if she hadn't told me. I all worked out fine, but it did involve a rather traumatic trip to the ER to get it removed.

But we NEVER have had anything remotely like a choking incident. But like I said, my dd has never been very chokey.

Anyway, the moral of my story (I think) is that if you think your child is ready, it's probably okay, but supervision is important, and rules like only eating nuts when sitting in one place (not while walking around, etc.).


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## Britishmum (Dec 25, 2001)

My dds love nuts. But I only give them halves, and insist that they sit at their little table to eat them. I hover over them, just in case.

We actually had our worst choking incident with a whole grape, and I"m very fussy consequently about cutting up grapes for my two year old. I wont give them whole grapes until at least three years old.


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## Nemmer (Sep 30, 2002)

My DS has always been a good chewer, never had choking problems at all. And he loves nuts, especially cashews. He's eaten them since he was about 18 months or so, I'd guess.


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## momto l&a (Jul 31, 2002)

At 21 months I would not have a problem with whole nuts.


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## EmmalinesMom (Feb 9, 2003)

Not at 21 months, but now, at 35 months, i let her eat nuts at the table with me sitting there (usually stealing her nuts, lol). I don't let her run around with a cup of them, and I'm always there with her as she eats, and we talk about chewing them up really well, etc. We haven't had any choking incidents or anything up the nose (yet).


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## slightly crunchy (Jul 7, 2003)

I try to break cashews and walnuts into pieces, as well as Brazil nuts. Pistachios and almonds he eats whole since before he was 2. It is always supervised, and I have him take only one or two at a time and chew very well.


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## littlest birds (Jul 18, 2004)

I do have a 21 mo and nuts are okay but we only eat small and soft ones like peanuts and cashews--and halves and pieces of cashews are cheaper so I never even thought about it.

I'd probably only let her try out one bigger nut and see what happened... I don't even think she'd like it--if it was too much chewing she'd just spit it out and I'd feel pretty safe with her.

The day care? I don't know as a daycare really must err on the side of caution IMO


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## Chaja (Dec 13, 2002)

Here is a very recent thread from the Nutrition and Good Eating Board. That's a great board with food questions b/c the Moderator Cathe is wrote the Natural Baby Food (name is not right) cook book. I always get great info there - though on this it's clear there are a wide range of opinions:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...&highlight=nut


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## OhMel (Oct 16, 2002)

We started doing nuts at about 18 months -- ds







s cashews!


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## IdentityCrisisMama (May 12, 2003)

Yes, I would and did.


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## jogirl (Oct 21, 2002)

My almost 18mo dd chews most foods well... but, not nuts.
I make a "granola" mix out of soy nuts, sunflower seeds, and raisons... most come out the same way as they went in. When I see them more chewed then I may consider something larger, but not until then.


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## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

Yes... but I've never been very worried about ds choking.


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## Marsupialmom (Sep 28, 2003)

If he is sitting while eating them I would let them. Honestly you can choke on anything.


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## girlzmommy00 (May 15, 2003)

I would be really upset to find my daycare provider feeding my 21 month old nuts. Due to allergy issues, children under 3 shouldn't be eating nut products. She had no way of knowing if your child could react to them and nut allergic reactions can be life threatening. She shouldn't be feeding any children under 3 nuts.

I know people often say that they have no family history of allergies or they've tried them before but you can still react to foods that you've tried previously, esp at this age. I have 2 friends who have children with life threatening peanut allergies and they have no family history of any allergies of any kind.

I know some may find this extreme but I'd be upset that my DC provider was doing something that I'd consider possibly risking my child's life.


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

i didnt know there were life threatening allergies to any nuts besides peanuts, girlzmommy.

my dd's been eating whole almonds and shelled walnuts since about 18 months, no problems. i watch her, but i do that no matter what she's eating. she eats grapes fine too. i do worry about her putting the nuts up her nose, though. brand new thing, the nose eating. today she was very proud to have put two black beans up there, one in each nostril!! ack!


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## beth568 (Jul 1, 2004)

Yes, it's possible to have a severe allergic reaction to tree nuts other than peanuts. Not a good idea for little ones under 2. And most people I know who have any kind of nut allergy avoid nuts of all kinds, just to be safe - especially with mixed nuts, you don't know what kinds of oils are mixed in there, so I'd avoid them altogether.

My DD, who is 34 months, almost choked on a whole macadamia nut that my mom gave her a few weeks ago. And she's a good chewer and eater most of the time. She was just eating quickly and it was slippery. I would not have given it to her. I still cut her grapes for this reason - we've never had a choking incident, but she eats fast, and I don't want to take the chance.

The up-the-nose thing is a good point. I had forgotten how interesting little kids think it is to stick things up there!


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## penny31 (Jul 21, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *girlzmommy00*
I would be really upset to find my daycare provider feeding my 21 month old nuts. Due to allergy issues, children under 3 shouldn't be eating nut products. She had no way of knowing if your child could react to them and nut allergic reactions can be life threatening. She shouldn't be feeding any children under 3 nuts.

I know people often say that they have no family history of allergies or they've tried them before but you can still react to foods that you've tried previously, esp at this age. I have 2 friends who have children with life threatening peanut allergies and they have no family history of any allergies of any kind.

I know some may find this extreme but I'd be upset that my DC provider was doing something that I'd consider possibly risking my child's life.

That's not extreme, IMHO! The AAP says that kids shouldn't have nuts till they are 3, and it is peanuts and tree nuts, as far as I understand it. We don't have any allergies but I don't see any reason to risk a nut allergy, myself, so Eliza won't have any nuts till 3. I would probably be worried about the choking too, some nuts are the perfect shape to get lodged in the windpipe (but this is coming from a mommy who let her 20m old play with marbles today because it made her happy - she has a fever and is cranky







).

XOXO


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## bobica (May 31, 2004)

we are avoiding all nuts until age 3 b/c of the risk of allergies, period, end of story. the idea that the day care provider is the one introducing them scares me to no end, and i'm a big supporter of daycare in general.







:


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## Katie's Momma (Jun 11, 2004)

No I won't even let my 3 year old eat whole nuts.


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## fiddledebi (Nov 20, 2003)

We had not intended to give dd any nuts at all until she was 3, because we heard that was the current thinking on allergies, especially in allergic families like ours (I have an anaphyllactic reaction to all fish, dh's sister is terribly allergic to all nuts). However, one day when she was about 17 months, we gave dd a muffin which we were told was a plain cherry muffin. After she had eaten half of it, I took a bite and tasted slivered almonds. Of course we panicked, carried her all the rest of the day to be sure we could hear her breathing at all times, etc. She was fine.

I still intended to give her nothing else with nuts until she was 3 (since people may not react at the first exposure), but darned if we didn't have a similar experience about 6 months later with an oatmeal cookie that was supposed to have absolutely no nuts, but definitely did (you'd think I'd have tasted it first, but yeah, well...). She was fine that time too.

So, she's now 27 months, and I was blanching almonds for a recipe a couple weeks ago and she asked for one. I decided that I have enough trouble getting protein in her (she'd live on fruit and dry cereal if she could), and I'd give it a shot. So, I gave her a blanched almond and watched her carefully...same rules other have discussed, that almonds are for eating in the kitchen at the table with Mommy right there. She was fine, and she really liked it. I gave her a few more, but one at a time from my bowl. I don't think I'd give them to her in a bowl of her own, since I think she'd try to eat a handful at once.

Just my two cents...

-Debi


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## slightly crunchy (Jul 7, 2003)

FYI, the AAP has no such statement about withholding all nuts until age 3. There may be some allergy organization that says that, but not the AAP.

In fact, most friends and relatives have been surprised that we waited on tree nuts until almost 2 years old (still haven't done peanuts, are waiting until 3 years to hopefully reduce allergy risk), as their pediatricians told them peanut butter was fine after one year. If you look on Dr. Sears website, he talks about feeding peanut butter to toddlers as a healthy snack.

From what I understand, even though the allergists say to wait until 3 years, there is no proof that this will mean a kid who was going to be allergic, will not be. I think it is mostly theoretical at this point. Correct me if I'm wrong.


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## kakies (Aug 8, 2002)

I let dd begin eating almomds at around 14mo. She saw me eating and she wanted some. I was a little hessitant at first. Then I thought, what if I don't let her eat them maybe one day she will find one and eat it when I am not looking...and choke!. So I decided to teach her. I would say: "Yes you can eat this but slowly, very slowly. Hold it and scrape it with your front teeth, slooowly." From then on dh and I began to eat nuts the same way...slowly. She would even monitor us and say "mommy, eat slowly" "mommy, not choke, ok?"

She learned to chew them very well. Now she is 31mo and she is a total expert with anything she eats. I am not afraid of her choking on anything. She actually chews her nuts to the point of 'liquid' almost before she swallows.

But your situation is different. In our case, I or dh were the ones checking to see that she is eating them correctly....in your case it's someone else and you might not know if they will be as vigilant. I would practice at home until I am sure he remembers the rules about eating this type of food.


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## samuelsmom (Nov 27, 2002)

Well, after ds was 2, we did let him have nuts. He had already been eating peanut butter (on the ped's OK, of course). We eat a lot of nuts in our house as a pretty healthy snack, and Samuel loves them. We watch him very carefully when he has them, of course and expect him to be sitting down when he's got them in his mouth. We have a very hard time getting him to eat much of anything, and nuts have some good fats and protein, so it works for us! I really think it's a decision you have to make knowing your child's ability to chew (and stay seated) and whether or not you have family history of allergies or not.


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## squeakermansmom (Sep 17, 2002)

we recently started letting ds have nuts - supervised though. he's never really been a choker though (knock on wood).


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## CherylE (Oct 9, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *penny31*
That's not extreme, IMHO! The AAP says that kids shouldn't have nuts till they are 3, and it is peanuts and tree nuts, as far as I understand it.

Yes this is correct. children should not be fed any nuts peanuts or tree nuts until the age of 3 years. Both for choking and allergy reasons. Even if they don't show immediate allergy response - they are WAY more likely to develop allergies to nuts LATER if they have them before age 3. This is what the allergy specialist we had to take Maddy to told us.

I would be horribly upset about someone giving my toddler nuts and pull my child from a daycare that did that


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## vipassanagal (Aug 28, 2003)

My son started eating nuts at 18 months. He loves them and is a good chewer. We eat mostly Raw foods so it's part of the diet. We soak the nuts overnight in water. They get soft and there is not such a problem with choking.

Would not have been happy with someone else introducint them.


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## Sandrine (Apr 14, 2004)

A friend of mine son who was 2 at the time, ate nuts and peanuts. They went out for dinner at a place that serve fresh peanuts while you wait. Well, because he had already had some at other occasions, She didn't think nothing of it and let him have some. He start to react. They went to OR and she found out that he was allergic. She couldn't beleive that after all the time that she had let him eat some that he was now allergic to peanuts. he now 8yr old and still allergic to them.

For me, because dh family has allergies, I will wait until both dds are at least 3yrs. I would love to give her some but I won't risk her reacting.

I would also be upset if my daycare gave new foods to dds. Especially nuts/peanuts.


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## hipumpkins (Jul 25, 2003)

DD at 21 mos eats cashews and loves them. I am not at all well versed on nut allergies just know that peanuts can be scary.


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