1. Making Childhood Asthma Less Intrusive
If your son or daughter has asthma, attacks can be overwhelming. Your child may be afraid or
embarrassed, especially when asthma strikes them at school. The following article will address these
issues and help you to protect your child, while enabling them to have the most normal, active
lifestyle possible.
1. Aim for normalcy. It can be hard not to be overprotective, but so long as you operate within the
guidelines set forth by your physician, let your child play! School sports and neighborhood
meanderings are normal and healthy activities that will both teach and entertain your child. Maintain
your parental vigilance, but give your child as much normalcy as possible.
2. Don't limit your child unnecessarily because of asthma. They could be just as likely to have an
attack in the school corridor as on a field trip. Constantly telling him or her that they cannot do
something because they are asthmatic, unless medically necessary, can cause them to feel left out
and miserable. Whenever you are in doubt, call your doctor's office.
3. Keep channels of communication open with your child. Cultivate conversations that are conducive
to your child being completely forthcoming about symptoms, triggers and questions. Have a nurturing
tone so that they never fear honesty with you, and voluntarily share useful information.
4. Keep your child's teachers and school nurse in the loop. Have a reliable "go-to" staff member each
year, preferably school medical personnel. Provide them with a list of medications, asthma triggers,
useful phone numbers and any other relevant information. Make sure you have a direct method of
contact with them as well and that your child is comfortable going to them about anything.
5. Ask for your child's input on how to improve his life with asthma. Although you and your child's
physician are the ultimate caretakers, nobody knows more about what life with asthma is like than
your child. Make a point of asking how things might be improved or what needs to be changed up.
Your child's input could be an invaluable tool for creating the most normal existence possible.

2. 6. You and your child need to work hand-in-hand with the physician. No matter what the
circumstances, always head the doctor's advice. This may sometimes put the burden of having to be
restrictive directly on your shoulders, but doctor's orders must be adhered to. Encourage your child to
make inquiries at check-ups, so that they can fully understand the underlying medical reasons for
restrictions and better comprehend the condition itself.
7. Have a plan of attack when severe symptoms strike. Expect the best and be optimistic with your
child, but have a good strategy for dealing with full-blown asthma attacks. Make sure he or she
always has the medically necessary supplies at the ready and that all support people are fully
informed. Preparing your child for the worst case scenario is unfortunately a sound parental tactic. Try
not to instill fear or live fearfully yourself, just remember what Benjamin Franklin once declared about
an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure.
Children with asthma can suffer in many ways and asthma can have a big impact on their
psychological state. As a parent, the balance between protecting them and allowing them to have an
active lifestyle can be tricky. Consider the above tips to help the both of you manage asthma in any
setting, while still allowing for an active and normal childhood to occur.
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