How to Care for an Asthmatic Child

Photograph: Sean Smith/Guardian

We all know that asthma can be dangerous to our child and he may grow with it if not being treated immediately. It is also a common understanding that asthma is a disease wherein the special attention is needed. While there are now many ways to cure it, it can be denied that your child will be also being affected psychologically. That is why while he is still in the process of medication and has limited activities, it is our duty as parents to ensure that he is not totally deprived of his rights as a child. Being a father to an asthmatic son, I would like to share to you what we have been doing to show care to him, in which helps him a lot to recover:

1.0 Give educational toys. Since he cannot always play outside the house; we bought him educational toys to enjoy with. This includes children books, attractive coloring books and a Mega Sketcher. This is like a paper where he can write and draw as frequent as he could. This is because it can easily be erased without using erasers that can harm him. We also gave him toy cars which he can dismantle and attached all over again. This way, he can discover a lot of things all by himself while playing.

2.0 Exercise with him. It is a common knowledge that exercising is a big help to a child to recover from asthma. However, an asthmatic child finds it hard to run along with normal children. That is why he needs a companion who can understand his needs and will have a lot of patience. If he feels that walking with someone is enjoyable, he will somehow forget that breathing is a hard thing to do. Swimming is another good exercise and by doing it with his family makes it more exciting.

3.0 Have consistent reminders. Children always want to play, no matter how he feels afterwards. You should therefore be consistent in reminding him his limits and explain to him the possible effect if he will not follow you. If he is old enough, he will understand that you care for him and you only want the best for him. Moreover, do not be mad he will not be good follower at all times. Instead, try to understand that it is not easy to be someone who cannot do normally do things. If it hurts you looking at him breath with an inhaler, then it hurts him more as a child.

4.0 Show him that he is normal. Although he is almost always having a lot of medication and frequently being hospitalized, try to show him that he is still normal. If the child feels that he need special attention, he will always be dependent to you and he will feel guilty about it. There might also come a time that he will be upset because of his condition, and this may only worsen the situation. Therefore, it is but right to show him that he is just like any other child that needs affection.

5.0 Teach him to be brave. This is to avoid further problems on his part. If he feels that he is limited to many activities, he may not try other activities that he can. He will somehow have a phobia and will greatly affect his personality, if he will not be encouraged to be brave and strong to accept things. You can cite some well known personalities who have almost the same problem but still made it. He cannot be cured by medicine alone. He also needs to feel that determination is a big factor why dreams do come true.

Asthma does not only affect his breath, but can also degrade his heart if he will not feel any care from you.

Article Source:Effective Parenting Tips