An Art of Parenting

If you have a child at home who is allergic to pet dander or some other facet associated with keeping pets in the home, it can make your living situation difficult to manage if you keep dogs or cats in the house.  While most parents wouldn’t adopt a pet knowing their child was severely or even mildly allergic, in many instances adults have had their pets for years before their children were born, or their kids didn’t begin to show signs of more intensive allergic responses until they were older.  If you have to balance the well being of your child with care for your pet in the same home, there are some ways to do it that will make both more comfortable.  After all, no one wants to banish their pets to the backyard all day or make little Johnny sneeze nonstop inside because the dog’s in the house.

The best thing to do first is to consult a pediatrician or allergy specialist.  He or she will best be able to determine the severity of your child’s allergies.  In some instances, you may even find out that something else entirely (other than pet dander) is contributing to your child’s allergic reactions, which will be most useful.  In other cases, you may have been spot-on in predicting the cause of your child’s reactions, and the doctor may be able to prescribe him or her medication that will help contain his/her allergic responses.  Many people, adults and children alike, are able to live in a home with pets so long as they stay on routine with their allergy medication.

There are other ways to help as well beyond just a doctor’s visit.  Doing more frequent cleaning of pet hair left around the home will help reduce symptoms in many kids, as you’d be surprised how quickly and how extensively pet hair is distributed around your home.  Since you don’t want to spend hours each day toting a vacuum pack around the house, you should also try to encourage your pet to use a pet bed.  By lying on the sofa or in your child’s bed, your pet is exacerbating his shedding on furniture, making your cleanup job more difficult.  If you encourage him to sleep in one specific pet bed, you’ll better be able to control where his fur lands, making cleanup much easier and swifter to undertake.

Follow these tips and you’re sure to lessen the strain of pet allergies for your kids.

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