The Trigger Mobile

Purpose: To teach young children about asthma triggers using a creative, hands-on activity. This one is good for older children, too.

Skills: Cutting, pasting, fine-motor skills trigger identification.

What You Will Need:

• Plastic Hangers
• Magazines
• Scissors
• Glue
• Colored Construction Paper
• Hole Puncher
• Ribbon, String, or Yarn
• Crayons

What To Do:

• Discuss the main asthma triggers with your children emphasizing feathered and furry animals, dust, cockroaches, and cigarette smoke.
• Pass out magazines to your children and have them search for pictures of triggers.
• Distribute scissors, glue, and paper and have your children cut out pictures of triggers and glue them onto color construction paper of the same size.
• Review each of the triggers that your children picked and write the name of the trigger on the back of the paper.
• Punch holes in the triggers, string yarn or ribbon through the hole, and hang at different lengths from the hanger.
• Each child should describe his/her Trigger Mobile and hang it up in his/her room. Whenever they look at their Trigger Mobile, they will be reminded of different asthma triggers in and around their home.

REFERENCE: Triggers outlined in Chapter 5 of this handbook.

Coat hanger