Adapting to Diabetes

Perhaps the title "adapting to diabetes" is a bit misleading—the goal is to make diabetes care fit into your family's lifestyle, not vice-versa. After all, diabetes is just one part of your child's life. And the truth is, you're much more likely to be upset or affected by this diagnosis than your child is. Kids live in the moment, and yours is more likely to be thinking about what's on television right now than the significance of his or her blood sugar results this afternoon.

For your own peace of mind, as well as your child's health, take advantage of every possible opportunity to educate yourself. Get involved in a local support group, where you can get to know other families facing the exact same issues every day. And take care of yourself. Diabetes is a day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour responsibility, and if you're not careful it's easy to get burned out.

Talking to Your Diabetic Child

As your child gets older, you'll want to share more and more details about the importance of self-care, and your feelings. Still, it's probably not appropriate to talk to a child about long-term diabetes complications until they're in their teens. Right now, that can only serve to frighten a child for whom "the future" is just a hazy concept.

For a while, it may be enough for them to know that they've got too much sugar in their blood and need insulin to let it out.

A few more tips...

•   Try to be matter-of-fact about blood sugar levels, blood glucose tests, and insulin injections—your child will take cues from you.

•   Listen closely to your child, and read between the lines. Are there things they don't quite understand? Like that diabetes isn't deadly or contagious? Do they realize they aren't being punished for doing something wrong?

•   Choose words carefully—don't call blood sugar test results "good" or "bad." Use the words high, low, and normal. Try to keep things from sounding judgmental whenever possible.

•   Congratulate your child on being courageous when it's time to test or inject.

•   Make testing and injecting times warm and loving. A hug after a fingertip prick can go a long way.

•   Don't make everything about diabetes. Remember to ask, "how was school today?" or "how was practice?"—not just "how was your blood sugar today?"

•   Never let your child use diabetes as an excuse. If they try to use diabetes as a reason for misbehaving, it can just as easily be used as a reason to prevent them from doing things they want to do.

Most important, limits and discipline are just as essential for a child with diabetes as for any other child. Sometimes parents may feel sorry for a son or daughter with diabetes, and try to make up for it by being lenient in other areas. This may be tempting, but in the long run, it won't help—in fact it may actually make it harder for your child to get by in the real world. And it can be difficult for siblings who don't get special treatment to understand.

A good rule of thumb? Your child should never use diabetes as an excuse, and neither should you.