Nursery & childcare

Toddler playing Finding the right childcare can often be difficult for parents, and sometimes even more so for parents and carers of children with asthma. Concerns about the care and support your child will receive and the knowledge and experience that your childcare worker has can cause stress and worry.

However, there are some steps that you as a parent or carer can take to try and make sure that your child receives the best possible care while they are with your childminder, nanny or pre-school worker.

Key questions to ask your childcare provider

There are three key questions you should ask your child's carer or organisation that cares for your child.

They will help you open up a conversation with your child carer, increase their understanding of asthma and help you to secure the best possible care for your child.

1. Do you have an asthma policy?

An asthma policy is a set of guidelines or 'rules' that cover how your child will be cared for. Ideally all child carers should have one in place. There should be a clear written policy that covers everything including:

  • the environment your child will be in
  • the training that child carers receive
  • whether or not they will give your child their asthma medicine or allow them immediate access to it
  • the procedures that they follow in the event of an asthma emergency.

2. Are you able to provide the individual care that my child needs?

As every child's asthma is different, a child carer should be able to demonstrate that they understand this. The environment needs to be as safe as possible for your child. This means practical measures should be taken to avoid their triggers (for example, a no smoking policy or no furry or feathery pets). Asthma medicines should also be accessible and your child carer should be confident in when and how your child may need to use them.

3. Do you know how to recognise and deal with an emergency?

Should it occur, your child carer should know how to recognise an emergency situation with your child and know exactly what to do.

Additional steps you should take

Sleeping child

Apart from following the three key questions there are some additional steps you can take to help your child care worker look after your child.

Provide them with written information that includes:

  • what asthma medicines your child takes, how much and when
  • what triggers your child's asthma and what to do if their asthma gets worse
  • who to contact in case of an emergency and how to contact them.
Give your child carer spare medicine and make sure it is clearly labelled with your child's full name. Keep a note of the expiry date so that you can change it when needed. Make sure it will be kept in an easily accessible place.

Always try to keep your child carer informed about your child's asthma. For example, let them know if your child has had a bad night, seems to be experiencing a new trigger, or is more wheezy than usual. This is equally important when your child's asthma seems better than usual. In this way you will help your child carer to build up a clearer picture of your child's asthma and to recognise when their symptoms are worsening.

Other help and resources

  • For free, confidential advice from an asthma nurse specialist call the Asthma UK Adviceline on 0800 121 62 44

Useful materials

Parent and Carers forum