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Children and type 1 diabetes
Parenting is a tough job under the best of circumstances. When your child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, you suddenly have to take on a whole new list of responsibilities and concerns. Although family life and daily routines may be more complicated, especially in the beginning, over time and with the help and support of your diabetes team you will discover that your child can have a healthy, full life in which diabetes plays an important but not all-encompassing role.
Parent’s role
As the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, you will need to test your child’s blood glucose level, inject insulin, make sure that she eats regular meals and snacks, and ensure that her medication, food intake and activities are balanced for optimum diabetes management. If your child is very young, she may not be able to recognize or express how she feels, so you will also need to be alert to the signs of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia).
The idea of testing blood, injecting insulin and learning about diabetes care may seem frightening to you right now. As you work with your diabetes team (physician, diabetes educator, nurse, dietitian, and/or pharmacist), you will gain knowledge and confidence. It is important that you become at ease with your child’s diabetes care so that you can instil this confidence in your child.
Talking to your child about diabetes
The way you talk to your child about his diabetes will have a tremendous impact on how he perceives the disease, his body and himself. Avoid judgemental terms when describing food or blood glucose levels, For example, no single food should be described as “bad” or “junk”; rather, talk to your child about how food fits into a healthy lifestyle. Similarly, blood glucose levels are best described as “high, low or normal” rather than “good or bad.” Young children, especially, may attach to themselves the negative terms you use to describe their diabetes. By being positive and supportive, you help boost your child’s self-esteem at a time that it may be most threatened.
Talking to caregivers
You need to make sure that anyone who looks after your child with diabetes has enough information in order to keep her safe. In particular, they need to know your child’s eating and drinking requirements; what treatments and blood glucose tests she needs and when; what symptoms suggest high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) and low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) and what to do if your child has low blood glucose levels. You will also need to advise those caring for your child of situations when you must be contacted and how you can be reached at all times. In some situations, parents will need to make sure that care givers are competent with either testing blood glucose and giving insulin or in supervising these routines. Members of your diabetes team can help you make sure that your child’s care givers are adequately educated.
As your child grows
As with any other parenting issue, your role regarding your child’s diabetes will change as he matures. Encourage your child to be involved in his diabetes management right from the beginning. Even a very young child can pick which finger is to be tested and read the numbers on the meter. As he grows and becomes more independent, he can learn to test his blood, interpret the results and perform injections.
The toughest job for many parents is to learn to let go of controlling their child’s care and trust her to take responsibility for her health. This should be a gradual process for both of you. Don’t expect your child to assume complete responsibility for testing and injections at a young age. Diabetes care will always be shared to some extent. With your support and guidance, your child will learn to incorporate diabetes care into her daily routine and become the manager of his diabetes.