When it comes to what to feed babies and when, a lot of parents worry about doing the wrong thing. “It’s not an intuitive process,” says Dr. Jeremey Friedman, chief of Paediatric Medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Here are our answers to five of the most common questions about babies and food.

I gave my baby some peanut butter–could she have an allergic reaction?

The latest studies show exposing infants to potentially allergenic foods doesn’t actually affect the likelihood of their becoming allergic, and could potentially decrease their risk of having any allergic reaction.

As for when to introduce other allergenic foods, the latest research also shows sooner may be better. If you have a history of a certain allergy, or your child has skin ailments you should, however, introduce the food in the presense of a doctor.

Until recently, the recommendation was to wait to start peanut products until two to three years of age, but now the theory is that if your baby is going to get an allergy, she’s going to get it no matter what, says Friedman, and early introduction could potentially decrease the risk.

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