This study is concerned with the approximation properties of pairs. For ${\lambda}{\geq}1$, we prove that given a Banach space X and a closed subspace $Z_0$, if the pair ($X,Z_0$) has the ${\lambda}$-bounded approximation property (${\lambda}$-BAP), then for every ideal Z containing $Z_0$, the pair ($Z,Z_0$) has the ${\lambda}$-BAP; further, if Z is a closed subspace of X and the pair (X, Z) has the ${\lambda}$-BAP, then for every separable subspace $Y_0$ of X, there exists a separable closed subspace Y containing $Y_0$ such that the pair ($Y,Y{\cap}Z$) has the ${\lambda}$-BAP. We also prove that if Z is a separable closed subspace of X, then the pair (X, Z) has the ${\lambda}$-BAP if and only if for every separable subspace $Y_0$ of X, there exists a separable closed subspace Y containing $Y_0{\cup}Z$ such that the pair (Y, Z) has the ${\lambda}$-BAP.