- 1). Educate your child about asthma. Teach him to identify his "triggers" and how to avoid them, and to use his inhaler when he feels wheezy.
- 2). Teach him how to purse-lip breathe and how to breathe from his diaphragm. (See "How to Control Asthma Symptoms.")
- 3). Eliminate triggers from his environment, including dust, cold air, pet dander and cigarette smoke.
- 4). Provide his teacher and school nurse with a set of guidelines concerning when your child is to be sent home and when you are to be called.
- 5). Give them your doctor's phone number and clear instructions on how they should proceed if your child develops an asthma attack. Ask them to keep classrooms as free from triggers (like chalk dust) as possible.
- 6). Have your child dress warmly and take the school bus during the winter.
- 7). Pick a babysitter you trust, educate her about asthma, then try to keep her. Some families with asthmatic children get together to form a babysitting co-op where one set of parents will watch the asthmatic children of another set of parents, and vice versa.
- 8). Encourage your child to go to school every day, unless staying home is really a must. Create as normal a life for your child as you can.
- 9). Allow your child to be as physically active as he is able to be. Some children can participate in team sports, while others can't.
- 10
Consider sending your child to asthma camp each summer. Run by organizations such as the American Lung Association, these are a great place for kids to have fun in an atmosphere where the staff is asthma-aware.
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