Whole nuts and seeds for babies
How to serve it at 6, 9 and 12 months.
Whole and chopped nuts and seeds are on the CDC's choking list, and the AAP says to avoid them. The AAP says whole peanuts and tree nuts wait until a child chews well, usually around age 4. A choking hazard on both lists. A major allergen (tree nuts).
Checked October 29, 2026.
How to serve whole nuts and seeds at 6, 9 and 12 months
| Age | How to serve it |
|---|---|
| About 6 months | Not served. |
| About 9 months | Not served. |
| About 12 months | Not served; the AAP says to keep high-risk foods away until about age 4, depending on your child. |
Every baby is different. Start the same way for every food: your baby sits up, you are right there, and the pieces match what they can do.
Is whole nuts and seeds a choking hazard?
It is named on both the CDC's choking list and the AAP's choking page. The AAP says to cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch, to have children sit while they eat, and to watch every meal.
Hold off until a child chews well, usually about age 4 (AAP).
Is whole nuts and seeds an allergen?
It contains tree nuts, one of the nine major food allergens the FDA names.
The AAP says there is no evidence that waiting beyond 4 to 6 months prevents food allergy, and that new foods go in one at a time. See introducing allergens for the AAP and NIAID guidance, and ask your pediatrician if your baby has severe eczema or an allergy.
Where this comes from
Named by: CDC: Choking Hazards; AAP: Choking Prevention. The serving steps follow the CDC's texture advice and the AAP's finger-food and choking pages.
Call your pediatrician if…
Your pediatrician knows your child. Call them if you have a worry about a food, a reaction or choking. The AAP and the CDC have more:
Peabody editors write these pages from the sources below. We are not doctors, and this is not medical advice for your child.
Sources
- CDC: Choking Hazards (checked October 29, 2026)
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: Choking Prevention for Babies and Children (checked October 29, 2026)
- CDC: Tastes and Textures (checked October 29, 2026)
- CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods (checked October 29, 2026)
- FDA: The FASTER Act, Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food Allergen (checked October 29, 2026)
- AAP, HealthyChildren.org: When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter and Other Common Food Allergens to a Baby (checked October 29, 2026)