When I adopted a pair of twins, one of the first things that struck me was how many doctor's appointments they needed to go to. As we took them to all of their baby well-checks, I realised that these appointments were designed to find and address issues early before they caused other problems. Fortunately, our family paediatrician found a few critical problems that we were able to resolve head-on, and it was immensely helpful. Check out this blog for information about health care, preventative care, and helping your child to enjoy a better life. I know that some of these tips helped me, and I know that they can help you too.
Having allergies as a kid isn't any fun. It might be harder for your child to play outside, go to birthday parties, or do other normal kid stuff. However, the emotional symptoms can be just as bad as the physical symptoms. This is because your child might be embarrassed about the fact that he or she can't eat cake at a birthday party or because they have to go to the nurse to get medication because he or she is coughing too hard during pollen season. Here are some tips for helping your child cope with the emotional fallout of allergies.
1. Put the Problem in Perspective
The first thing that you can do is put the problem in perspective. Tell your child that everyone has something about their bodies or their lives that doesn't work perfectly. He or she might have friends that are in wheelchairs, that need to use glasses or an inhaler, or that walk with a limp. Show your child that his or her allergy symptoms are nothing to be ashamed of, in the same way that she doesn't consider her friends with a wheelchair or glasses weird.
2. Do Some Problem Solving
Your child might hate to experience symptoms in front of the class. In order to avoid this, he or she can take his or her medication before school, or ask to go to the bathroom at a specific time every day and go to the nurse for medication instead (after you talk to the teacher and get his or her sign off on this plan). You could also volunteer to make the cake for the birthday party that your friend is going to in order to ensure that there is cake that your child can eat but that doesn't inconvenience that actual birthday child. Finally, you could make sure that your child has a lot of indoor hobbies that he or she can share with his or her friends in order to increase the chances that his or her friends will want to do things indoors, rather than outdoors where there is a lot of pollen.
3. Compromise
If your child can't have a ton of stuffed animals because they attract dust mites, allow him or her to have one or two and commit to washing them every week in hot water to keep them from becoming an allergen. Invite a friend of your child over to play during the day if he or she can't go outside. Compromise to show that your child can still have fun despite allergies.
For more information, talk to an allergist that specializes in allergy treatments.
Share7 December 2016
