You are right Carrie, this section needs to be expanded. I'll see what I can do in the next week or two ...

Off the top of my head, I know that barley is used in most beer for sure, but that won't effect your 18 month old!

New Article About Barley: Foods that contain Barley

It is extremely difficult to avoid barely from your diet especially if you eat out much. The majority of breads and cereals contain barley or barley malt. I'll try to make a short to give you a general idea on what to avoid. Barley is commonly found in hot dog buns, hamburger buns, crackers, pretzels, cakes, some pie crust, bread crumbs taht used in cooking example: (progresso). I believe Barley is used as a binder so it is found in all sorts of chips that would not seem likely culprits. I've found in potato chips especially Kettle Brand, and even some corn ships although many seem to be free of it. It is of course found in Beer, but it can in other beverages, especially instant breakfast mixes like Carnation, or in some coca mixes. It is found some vegetable soups, I haven found it gumbo mix and brown rice syrup. It can be labeled so many different ways, that it is not always obvious. Barley , Barley Malt, Malt or Maltodextrin(which can be rice or corn, but they must indicate specifically to be safe. I was told that on occasion it is used as an ingredient in caramel coloring, although not always. So you can see sometimes your just playing a guessing game until the FDA places more stringent guidelines on labeling ingredients. I have am fortunate enough not to have a wheat allergy, so I can't help you much there, only to say that most things containing barley are likely to contain wheat.

For those like me you are only allergin to Barley I have discovered that a few Products that are barley-free:
Nature's own: 100% whole wheat bread
Nature's Own double fiber hot dog buns (Pepridge Farm also makes a barley-free hot dog bun)
Zesta Saltine Crackers are barley-free
Cherios, shredded wheat, Kix, Corn pops, Life, and quite a few others.

Please read the ingredients on the products I listed, as the manufacturer can change the recipe at any time.

I hope this has been helpful and I wish you the best of luck.