Too Young to Eat Nuts?

I believe the choking hazard is the main reason for the no-no. As long as there aren't any allergies in your family. I think you're supposed to wait until they're 3 or 4. I'm pretty sure that nuts are very healthy, they have a lot of fat but it's the good fat. Almonds in particular have some great nutritional value, but I don't recall what it is. Maybe just supervise her closely while she eats them. It's not like she's asking for chocolate all the time, at least she wants something healthy. :)

nuts are high in protein and healthy fat. I also worried the first year but since then she eats cashews or almounds for snacks and even has pb+j. The choking hazard are minamal and if there is no allergies in the parents than its very rare for the child to have one. Do keep in mind that peanuts cause the most allergies out of the nut family. Try toasted pine nuts too!

Hi, as an allergin peanuts in any form should be the only nut to worry about. Other nuts every so often, should be ok. I would watch closely with the hole nuts for choking. Nuts in foods like salads. Are normaly chopped small, but I would still watch closely.
Hope this helps
G.

When I had my kids tested for allergies.. the rule of thumb I was told was 1 year for nuts if there was no history of allergies, 3 years if there was a history. You are smart to watch her.. but if that was the first time she had a nut.. then chances are she won't have a reaction the first time she ate it. It takes exposure for the body to realize it is allergic...then the next time she eats it.. she might have a reaction.. or it may take a few times before she has a reaction. I would still watch her if you are concerned, but the choking hazard may be more of threat at this point... so the next time someone tries giving her something you don't want her to eat.. don't be intimidated.. calmly say "Oh... I do not want her to eat that yet, I am being cautious."

Most people these days are usually cautious and would ask first before giving your child something.. since allergies are so common... I am a bit surprised that your friend gave your daughter something without asking. As a parent.. you need to be assertive and watch over her if you want to stay on the safe side.. no one will look after her quite as carefully as you.. so consider that.

should you think she might be having a reaction.. don't hesitate to take her in for testing. Allergies to nuts are very common and can happen in kids with no family history.. and nut allergies tend to be the most threatening... I wouldn't take any chances with it.

best wishes..

J. G

My 16 month old also loves nuts. She never ate baby food, either (no texture, no flavor) and she asks for almonds all the time. I started her on crushed walnuts (not as allergic) at about a year just mixed into oatmeal or in "cookies." I'm careful not to let her eat too many, and I only give her one at a time or she shoves them all in and doesn't chew (she's always had lots of teeth). Her daddy has a slight allergy to almonds (basically from eating them every day). I think the allergy thing is fine if you keep a close eye on her and don't let her eat too many, too many days in a row. I think the peanut allergy is partially from people not eating enough different kinds of nuts (besides, it's a legume)...my kid loves almond butter, cashews, walnuts, filberts AND peanuts (and pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds). They're a heck of a lot better for you than sugar/preservative-filled Skippy and Welches jam, that's for sure. :) I say get her started now before she refuses to eat anything but macaroni and cheese.
It's a great question...

Hi Meliah1 My daughter has a severe nut allergy and she is 3 years old. when she was younger she never had any problems, but as a body intakes an item that they are allergic to, you will gradually start to see reactions and they will get worse over time. The first type of reaction that you might see is a rash. If your child gets a rash all over her body within 30 minutes of eating nuts, stop giving them to her and get her to an allergist. This is a sign that it could be a severe allergy that may cause anafalactic shock. if she is doing fine, just keep your eye on her and make sure she doesn't choke! I hope all works out for the better.

There is little concern about allergies with the nuts she has already eaten. If she had them they would have shown up immediately. As I understand it the biggest concern, outside of allergies, is choking. You could cut the nuts into smaller pieces to prevent this from happening. I would watch her when she eats peanuts, this is a common and severe nut allergy.
Nuts are a great source of essential fats and protein. I gave my children nuts as soon as they were able to chew them up.

Hi M.! As far as being an allergen...the nuts your daughter tried don't tend to be allergenic and it sounds like her body reacted to them just fine. Peanuts are a legume and closely related to soy, so if you have a concern about peanuts specifically, you may want to avoid soy for now as well.
Choking...hmmm...almonds especially may be deemed a "choking hazard", but it sounds like your daughter chewed them up well. My gut says trust your gut and just be actively supervising her while she eats them...one at a time =)

Nuts are so good for toddlers and especially Walnuts. Walnuts are loaded with the omega 3 fatty acids that everyone is talking about. No other nut has the omega 3 content that walnuts have. They are part of the "top 5 best superfoods" along w/ spinach, wild salmon and garlic. My boys LOVE walnuts and I am thrilled. They started eating them around 20 months and I was a little freaked out too at first. They really do fine with them and just watch for signs of allergic reaction. Clearly, your daughter seems to be fine w/ almonds and walnuts so no worries. My only suggestion would be to make sure you always buy raw nuts that have not been roasted. This is easy w/ walnuts but not as easy w/ almonds and other nuts. When nuts are roasted, it damages the oils inside and change the way the body is able to process them. Damaged oil is loaded w/ free radicals which are bad. Also, always keep raw nuts in the refrigerator because the oils go rancid pretty quickly when they are raw. I also give my boys raw pumpkin seeds and they love them. These are smaller and are less of a choking hazared if you feel more comfortabel with those. Another thought is try and buy organic because nuts are one of those things that suck up the pesticides due to the oil content. Costco sells a fabulous raw, organic trailmix now that is about $10 I think for a pretty large bag. It has walnuts, almonds, cashews, pumpkin, sunflower seeds, cranberrys and raisons and chocolate chips. my husbund loves this stuff.

-B. S.
mom of twin boys (turning 2 on January 20th)

I know how difficult it is, my 2 1/2 year old has also tried nuts and really liked them, but the choking hazard is real. One of my good friends had to take her 2 1/2 year old to the emergency room over Thanksgiving weekend when she started coughing as she was chewing on a nut and ended up inhaling it. She had to go under general anesthesia to have it removed. She came out just fine, but it was obviously a scary and stressful experience for all. This has given me new incentive to up my vigilance on the no nuts rule!

Apparently the american pediatrics association is now saying that there is no reason to delay giving kids peanuts, eggs, and fish (after the age of 4-6 months) unless there is reason to beleive your child is highly predisposed to an allergy to one of these foods. The previous research that drove them to the recommmendation to delay the introduction was apparently very week. Personally I would worry about choking on whole almonds (I just cut them in half). Walnuts are softer so easier for them to chew up. Grapes however are a huge choking hazard. My husband works with a pediatrician who says that grapes are the number one food hazard resulting in death that he sees.

Hope this helps you :)

I think you are doing a great job. Watching her carefully is the best thing. If you haven't seen any allergies since, I don't think it is necessary to hold back. You may want to grind up the nuts with a food processor, blender, or baby food mill first. Just in case. It could be very serious if she did choke, heaven forbid.

You did just fine. Most kids will tell you when they are ready to move. A side note: you can buy sliced almonds and crush the walnuts for easier chewing. I think more serious allergy reactions are to milk and wheat.

Dear M.
My kids have been eating nuts since they were around two and before that when they were in other foods. They have had no problems with any allergies. I have tried to keep them off dairy though which has been my biggest worry allergy wise. Choking at this point is probably your only worry with nuts. My boys are 5 and 7 now. J.

Nuts have great nutritional value, but we opted to forgo nuts until age three. At 18 months, in their raw form, they could be a considered a choking hazard. But, more significantly, they do pose a serious allergy threat. Here's what our pediatrician told us, in a nutshell (sorry, I couldn't help myself): children who are predisposed to have a nut allergy can actually eliminate the allergy entirely by abstaining from nuts for the first three years of life. In other words, if Baby M is predestined to have a nut allergy, by simply NOT eating nuts before she's three years old, Baby M will never even get the allergy. If Baby M does eat nuts before three, that can serve a trigger for the allergy and then she's stuck with it.

We have absolutely no history of nut allergies in our family, but it seemed a fairly easy thing to avoid for a great payoff.

Also, I'm not in the medical field at all, so I'm just regurgitating what I was told...

J.

Any food can be a choking hazard if the child is running, talking, crying, etc. Of course some foods are bigger hazards than others, but you can minimize the risk by making sure when she eats these things she's sitting down, paying attention to her food, and you're right there with her.

My just-turned-2 son loves nuts, and I allow him to eat them, but only when I'm right there to supervise, and I make sure he only eats one at a time.

one thing i wanted to add was that you should continue to watch your child. allergic reactions often don't happen the first time they eat what they're allergic to, but the second or third time. i guess with the first time they eat it, their body hasn't yet identified it as a 'threat' and so only causes the next time they eat it.

also, does anyone have allergies in your family? to food or otherwise? it makes your daughter more likely to have allergies so it's better to avoid common allergens so she doesn't develop an allergy to them.

my daughter started having eczema at 8 months. we had her tested and she was allergic to dairy and eggs. we cut out both of those until she was 2 and she is no longer allergic to them. between 8 months and 2 years, she developed an allergy to our cats. if we hadn't had them, she might not have ever developed an allergy and could be a happy cat owner later in life. oh the guilt! i guess we can only do our best.

good luck and wishing your daughter an allergy-free life :)