Fun fact: Did you know that, according to the CDC, 1 in 5 children in the U.S. have seasonal allergies? Seasonal allergies can cause symptoms like sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes that can make your child miserable. Fortunately, there are over-the-counter allergy medications designed specifically for children. In partnership with Children’s Allegra, Scary Mommy contributor Erin Kelly asked a busy mom of two about her experience coping with her son’s seasonal allergies. Below, she shares how the formula has worked wonders for her kid’s allergies.

Seasonal allergies run in my family. I have very vivid memories as a kid that include lots of sniffling and grasping for tissues when the pollen count climbed. It’s one thing to have seasonal allergies now as an adult, but it’s a whole other ordeal to watch my kid suffering through them as a parent.

My husband and I have two children — a son who’s almost 3, and a daughter about to turn 5. A couple months ago, my son started waking up with swollen, red, itchy eyes and a runny nose accompanied by lots of sneezing. At first, I thought he had a cold, but his eyes were so swollen and watery I deduced it was something else: Seasonal allergies. His symptoms got so severe that I even had to keep him home from school for a couple days because he felt so uncomfortable! As a working mom, you can only imagine the childcare hoops I had to jump through.

Not only was it heartbreaking to see my baby boy waking up with his eyes swollen shut, but as a New York City-based family, our activity options immediately got cut in half. We enjoy taking advantage of everything the city has to offer when the weather is nice, but our weekend trips to the park quickly became too sneeze-inducing to justify, and our walks uptown were cut short once we hit our sniffle limit. As a parent, you naturally want to protect your kids, but it’s hard when the culprit is an unidentifiable allergen that’s taken over your city!

Frantic for a solution, I polled my network of Mom Friends (AKA superheroes) for their allergy medicine recommendations. Mom Friends truly always give the best advice: They do their research and have personal experience, so you know their suggestions are solid.

Their endorsement of Children’s Allegra was pretty unanimous, so I picked up a bottle of their Allergy 12 Hour Liquid. Designed for children ages 2 and up, Allegra relieves runny noses, watery eyes, and other symptoms associated with both indoor and outdoor seasonal allergies. I like that it’s non-drowsy, so it won’t affect my son’s concentration, and that it’s long-lasting, providing relief for up to 12 hours. It’s also available over-the-counter, so you don’t need a prescription to try it.

The best thing about Children’s Allegra is that it’s non-drowsy, which immediately won me over and turned me into an Allegra endorser (joining the rest of my Mom Tribe). I can give my son his dose in the morning before school with his breakfast, and not worry about it impacting his concentration during the day.

Other perks include its kid-approved berry flavor, which my son absolutely loves, and the fact that it’s suitable for kids ages 2 and up, so I can stick with the same medication as he gets older. Since seasonal allergies come back every year, it’s comforting to know that my bathroom cabinet will already be stocked whenever I need it next!

In addition to being the top recommended brand amongst all my Mom Friends (and now myself), Allegra is the #1 allergist recommended children’s non-drowsy oral antihistamine, giving me an extra vote of confidence that I’m giving my son the best and most effective allergy medication available.

Seasonal allergies stink — for lack of a better term. But you can fight back with Children’s Allegra Allergy 12 Hour Liquid. Learn more about where to find it here.