Tips for Introducing Peanut Butter to Your Baby

By : Jodie Shield | 2 Comments | On : December 3, 2013 | Category : Babies

The Preschooler’s Plate: Discovering the truth about peanut butter and food allergies.

Guest post by: Laura Chalela Hoover, RD

Last month, Jodie shared her mouth-watering recipe for homemade peanut butter. Soon after, she and I were chatting the deliciousness of homemade peanut butter, and (in a way that only a conversation among dietitians will go), we started swapping stories about the age of our kids when we first gave them peanut butter.

You see, the recommendation on introducing more allergenic foods (like peanut products, fish and eggs) to kids has changed drastically over the years. When I was introducing food to my oldest son, his pediatrician advised waiting until he was 2-years-old to give these foods to him, while infants who were considered at risk for allergies were advised to wait even longer, until age 3.

But just a few years later, when my daughter was born, our pediatrician gave the green light to introduce these foods to her beginning at six months.

Why The Change?
Like all areas of medicine, our knowledge of food allergies is continuously evolving. Based on the latest science and the guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics, it appears that once a baby is at least 4 to 6 months of age, there really isn’t a strong relationship between when these foods are introduced and the risk of developing food allergies.

In fact, some new evidence has found that introducing these foods within the first year (but after 4 to 6 months of age) may actually reduce the risk of food allergy.

Introducing Foods to Your Baby
While we now know that there’s no need to delay the introduction of more allergenic foods beyond 4 to 6 months of age, most experts agree that it’s still probably best to start with low-allergen foods, like rice or oat cereal, yellow and orange vegetables, fruits, green vegetables, and then age-appropriate staged foods with meats.

And no matter if a food is considered low-allergen or high-allergen, the same rule applies: always allow 3 to 5 days between introducing a new food, so that if your baby does have an allergic reaction, you can easily identify the culprit.

Of course, giving your baby or toddler nuts would be a choking hazard, so you’ll want to hold off on those until they are much older and have better mastered the art of chewing. In the meantime, you can introduce nuts in the form of nut butter, like Jodie’s peanut butter, spread thinly on a piece of warm whole grain toast.

A Few Important Caveats

• It is still recommended that whole milk not be introduced until 12 months of age. Before then, breast milk or infant formula should be the major source of nutrition in your baby’s diet.
• Even though honey isn’t considered to be an allergenic food, you should wait until your child is at least 1-year-old before introducing it. This is because honey can contain the bacteria that causes infant botulism.
• The recommendations on introducing food to your baby pertain to the general population. If your baby has a parent or sibling with an allergy, it’s extra-important to discuss it with your health care provider who may advise to hold off on certain foods longer, based on your family and baby’s specific health history.

About Laura

Laura Chalela Hoover is a registered dietitian nutritionist who lives in Chicago with her husband and two young children. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Smart Eating for Kids, a site that shares yummy nutrition ideas, kid-friendly recipes and smart strategies to manage picky palates and other obstacles. Look for her column The Preschooler’s Plate featuring nutrition tips for kids between the ages of 1 and 5 her at Healthy Eating for Families.