Young toddlers and nuts

[bluedaisy]

I had a WIC appointment yesterday for my 12 1/2 month old who is allergic to dairy and she suggested giving her nuts for the calcium and other minerals (my dd is breastfed).

I thought 12 months was too young for nuts but she said it would be ok because my dd has plenty of teeth. she has 14 teeth - her 8 front teeth, the 4 back ones, and then she had "skipped" 4 teeth between the front and back ones which are now coming in.

she suggested specifically slivered almonds since they are softer.

of course i know not to give dd whole nuts, so i've been giving her slivered almonds and breaking them in half. she LOVES them.

when i mentioned it to my mom, she freaked out and said i shouldn't be giving her nuts because it's a choking risk.

when did you start giving your toddler nuts? should i stop giving my dd almonds?

[prothyraia]

Er....how could she choke on half a sliver of almond?

[sapphire_chan]

Almond butter by 7-8 months. Now she insists on getting to chew up whole almonds, but is good about giving the chewed up pieces to me when I determine that she's not getting anywhere with them. (I'm hoping that having introduced the button tin will help honor her impulse to run her hands around things that size.)

Um, yeah, slivers of almonds aren't going to block her airway.

[pbjmama]

I think it is fine to keep giving them to her. She is not anymore likely to choke on those than any other small piece of food.

[Bea]

It's the shape of some whole nuts that's a choking hazard. Peanuts, for example, are just the right size and shape to lodge in and block the airway if inhaled.

Crushed, chopped, slivered, buttered etc nuts aren't risky at all except no nut butters by the spoonful, and beware toddlers like to stick little things up their noses (been there).

My son loved (loves) walnuts and pecans.

[kdtmom2be]

Since you've been giving them to her and she's been fine then I would keep giving them to her

BUT!

I wouldn't have given them to her yet in the first place if she's already displayed that she has a dairy allergy. Most people are not allergic to just one thing and I would have been a little more cautious about introducing another allergen.

[nerdymom]

yummy! there's a lot of common sense talk here, I just wanted to chime in and say my DS likes nuts, he's 13 months. I just don't give them to him whole.

[not_telling]

DS has been eating cashew butter on toast for several months. He just had slivered almonds for the first time the other day - he saw me putting them on my oatmeal and insisted that he needed them on his oatmeal, too. He seemed to enjoy them. We haven't tried any other nuts yet, but here's what I'm wondering:

Re. whole nuts being a choking hazard...I can see how a whole walnut or pecan or macadamia could pose a hazard...they're so big. But (shelled) peanuts seem relatively small. I read that a hotdog is the width of a toddler windpipe. That seems much bigger than a peanut, right? If a peanut is a choking hazard, then I feel like "peanut-sized" chunks of fruit (e.g. apple) or meat would also be a choking hazard. Can anyone clear this up for me?

[JL83]

Nut butters can be a choking hazard if they are spread too thick on the bread, or if they are used as a dip.

And whole nuts can be a choking hazard due to their shape.

But, if your kid likes nuts and you're being sensible about giving slivers or pieces, then there shouldn't be any problem.

This is coming from someone who still always cuts her DD's grapes into at least 1/2 if not 1/4s and my DD is 3.

[olien]

Originally Posted by JL83

Nut butters can be a choking hazard if they are spread too thick on the bread, or if they are used as a dip.

You can thin nut butters with milk to make a less chokable dip.

[JL83]

Originally Posted by olien

You can thin nut butters with milk to make a less chokable dip.

Then they wouldn't be straight nut butters...

The point is that a common snack, at least when I was little, was celery with peanut butter. It was either assembled for us or served as a dip. That would be chokable for a toddler.

[splath]

I think it's fine, but we're not doing nuts at all until dd is over at least 2, as we have a history of allergies in our family.

[swd12422]

I would think that chopped or slivered is fine for the choking hazard issue, but like splath, our ped told us to wait til DS was 2 years old before giving him any nuts b/c it can sensitize a child to the allergen and become an allergy later on....

[Dreamy]

I heard recent advice from an allergist - current research shows not to delay introducing the top 8 allergens, and that there may in fact be a window of opportunity between 6-9 months where introduction of these foods is optimal - if there is a family history of allergies you should wait until 1 year of age though.

As for the choking risk, this little boy nearly died of an infection after aspirating a peanut into his lungs - I'm very paranoid giving small, rounded foods to my son: http://www.thestar.co.uk/icehockey/T...who.5915247.jp

[paulamc]

Yikes! We do spoonfuls of nutbutters all the time. DS gains slow, and it's one way we've found to up his healthy calorie intake. Must we really stop this?

[Picard]

DS is 20 months and I have recently started giving him whole cashews, pecans, and walnuts. I don't give him whole almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts because I think these are a bit too hard for him yet. Also, I think the choking hazard depends on how smooth and round a nut is. DS seems to be doing just fine chewing his cashews, pecans and walnuts. I keep a very close eye on him when he eats these and he is only allowed to eat these while seated. He has no problems with nut butters at all and loves these!

[JL83]

Originally Posted by paulamc

Yikes! We do spoonfuls of nutbutters all the time. DS gains slow, and it's one way we've found to up his healthy calorie intake. Must we really stop this?

Yes.

It's too thick and could come off the spoon in a large glob and pose a hazard. Try spreading it on crackers or something else.

[nerdymom]

Originally Posted by paulamc

Yikes! We do spoonfuls of nutbutters all the time. DS gains slow, and it's one way we've found to up his healthy calorie intake. Must we really stop this?

I would think if it's been working for you, don't worry about it! you're there when s/he is eating it, right? I might not let him/her dig into the peanut butter alone, but supervised what's the big deal? Just use some common sense when scooping, I would think no more than 1-2 tsp at a time.

My one year old eats all sorts of things like *gasp* a handful of a raw honey and peanut butter sandwich at 9 months (He grabbed it while I was eating. That put an end to me eating and nursing at the same time, lol!), and whole (!!) grapes. He's swallowed a small pebble once and another time something else that I have no idea what it was because he swallowed it as I was forcing my hand into his mouth.

The bottom line: kids are resilient. Supervise them yes! but I mean my kid loves to crunch things like grapes and whole crackers with all 6 of his cute little front teeth. And if there is no history of food allergies in your family then introduce common allergens with a watchful eye and moderation until you're sure there is no sensitivity there.

[bluedaisy]

paulamc - fwiw, I choked on a spoonful of peanut butter when I was a child. I just ate a huge spoonful all at once and my mom had to turn me upside down and shake me to get it dislodged.

BUT, I agree with pp that if you give it in VERY small amounts it should be fine, or spread it on bread or apples or something.