Ahh, the dreaded childhood peanut allergy. Chances are you knew at least one person who you weren't allowed to eat your PB&J around as a kid. Almost 5% of American children have a peanut allergy, and research shows these numbers seem to be rising, with experts suggesting that in the past decade alone, rates have tripled.
But the most recent study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that the best way to prevent your child from developing peanut allergies is to actually expose them to peanuts.
Wait—isn't that a bit counterintuitive? The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't think so. In fact, the NIH's study shows that peanut allergy diagnoses fell a staggering 81% when this simple strategy is used.
The strategy is to expose your children to peanuts from a very young age, so that they won't develop an allergy or intolerance later on. So even though you're tempted to move that peanut-smothered candy bar away from your toddler, it might actually cause problems later on if you deny them now.
The Academy recommends that children be exposed to products with peanuts in them beginning from the ages of 4 to 11 months—especially for kids suffering from severe eczema or egg allergies. Since whole peanuts can be a choking hazard, young children should be exposed to peanut butter (and not the whole nut, at least until they're 4 years old.)