Peanut allergies have tripled in the past decade, causing parents everywhere to hide their nuts and hold off on offering peanuts to children until well after their second or even third birthday. Now experts are warning that the late introduction of nuts could be some of the problem.

On June 4, 2015 the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology released a statement on the importance of early introduction of peanuts.

It seems that introducing peanuts to high allergy risk kids between the ages of four and 11 months will actually decrease their risk of developing peanut allergies.

The Learning Early About Peanut (LEAP) study provided new evidence to support early, rather than delayed peanut introduction going as far as to say peanuts should be amongst the first foods offered to your child.

Researchers found an 11 to 25 percent absolute reduction in the risk of developing peanut allergies in high-risk infants (and a relative risk reduction of up to 80 percent) if peanuts were introduced between four and 11 months.

In the study, high allergy risk kids such as those with severe eczema or egg allergies were given an average of 7.7 grams of peanut protein each week for the first two years of feeding.

If you’re planning on introducing solid foods to your child you should talk to your pediatrician about the early introduction of peanuts.