Taking Control of Your Family’s Air Quality Exposure

“Air. Air!” Yes, I had to start with a call out to Spaceballs (clip of what I’m referring to is here).

May is Asthma Awareness Month, so I’m focusing on controlling air quality in our own lives. We may not be able to control the outdoor air quality very much, but we can help improve the air quality within our homes. Afterall, we may spend as much as 90% of our time indoors ((“Asthma Triggers: Gain Control”, 2016).

Improving Indoor Air Quality

• “Don’t let anyone smoke near your child.
• If you smoke — until you can quit, don’t smoke in your home or car.” (“Asthma Triggers: Gain Control”, 2016)
• Vacuum and dust regularly, especially if you have pets. Wash stuffed animals that are laundry-safe as well. (“Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” 2016)
• Ventilate properly, especially if there are sources of carbon monoxide around like fireplaces and stoves. (“Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” 2016)
• Consider low or no VOC house paint and household cleaners. (“Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” 2016)
• Test your home for radon. Go here for information on how to do so.
• If you have a humid basement, consider installing a dehumidifier to reduce mold. In humid bathrooms, use a ventilation fan to prevent humidity issues. (“Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” 2016)
• When possible, use non-chemical pest control methods indoors. Chemical pesticides can be irritating and harmful. (“Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” 2016)

If you have a child with asthma in the home, the EPA has several documents that may be useful for you. Included on that page is a link to an activity and coloring book you can print out that educates children on asthma triggers. Even if the child doesn’t have asthma him or herself, it could be good for learning about something that affects so many other people, including potentially classmates.

Avoiding Poor Outdoor Air Quality

Completely avoiding the outdoors isn’t healthy. There are a lot of reasons for children to go outdoors, including research showing that it reduces stress, promotes creativity and imagination, provides different stimuli than they receive indoors, makes them more active, and boosts confidence (Cohen, 2016).

Learn

Why is Coco Orange? is a book that you can print or just read online with kids. It’s suggested for ages 4–8. The focus is on helping to educate them on air quality using bright colors, lizard characters, and information about color code system for air quality that the EPA uses and children may sometimes see in schools. You can learn more about the EPA’s Air Quality Index and color coding system here.

Know When to Stay Inside

If you sign up for notifications through EnviroFlash, you can choose to be notified by email or text when the EPA declares an Air Quality Action Day in your area, a daily air forecast, and/or the current conditions. I signed up for all three, and especially the forecast I find useful for trying to make weekend plans. If it’s a bad air quality day on Saturday but not Sunday, I may choose to take my daughter to the zoo on Sunday and go to the library on Saturday instead, thereby limiting her outdoor exposure.

Engage

Activities for Kids

• 0–3 years old — Get them a balloon. Really, it’s that easy. It’s fantastic to watch, and I had as much fun watching my daughter with a balloon when she was around 2 and could walk it around the house. Use your judgment as to whether to have a balloon with helium or just one you blow up by yourself. Monitor the child to make sure he/she doesn’t try to eat it. As they shriek with glee, try to work in a few educational comments, like why the helium helps the balloon stay up, the color of the balloon, or how it bounces when it hits other surfaces.
• Make paper airplanes, indoors or out.
• Air villain trading cards. Random, right? But kind of neat!
• Print out the Getting There with Clean Air Activity Book and talk through the items highlighted on the page with the child.
• Do an air quality project, like this one. Even if you don’t have a whole week as noted in the instructions, consider putting the collection paper outside on a windy day. Or, if you’re really tight on time, just observe what you can see on a surface like a shallow pool or puddle.

Books

A lot of public libraries may have displays right now focusing on the warming weather, so be sure to check there for some good recommendations as well.

• Air is All Around You by Franklyn Branley (ages 4–8)
• How Plants Clean the Air: one leaf at a time by Ellen Lawrence (ages 5–8)
• The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois (ages 8–12)

References and Further Reading

• “Air Quality Index (AQI) Basics.” AirNow. 2016.
• “Asthma Triggers: Gain Control”. Environmental Protection Agency. 2016.
• Cohen, Danielle. “Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature.” 2016
• “Dusty, the Asthma Goldfish and His Asthma Triggers Funbook.” Environmental Protection Agency. 2013.
• “Find a Radon Test Kit or Measurement and Mitigation Professional.” Environmental Protection Agency. 2016
• Getting There with Clean Air Activity Book. Department of Environmental Conservation. 2016.
• “Protect Indoor Air Quality in Your Home.” Environmental Protection Agency. 2016.
• “Publications about Asthma.” Environmental Protection Agency. 2016.
• Why is Coco Orange? Environmental Protection Agency. May 2010. [This book is freely available online. Suggested for ages 4–8]