Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Caring for Your Child

Overview

Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease that currently has no cure. Your child needs to take insulin injections. This can be a scary process for adults, not to mention for a child. If your child is very young, you will need to give these injections. When your child is older, he or she can take on some of the responsibility for insulin injections.

If your child doesn't want to feel the insulin needle, your child's doctor can prescribe an indwelling subcutaneous cannula. A small needle is used to insert a soft tube into a place where you give your child an insulin shot, such as the belly. The needle is taken out, but the soft tube (cannula) stays in your child's body and is held in place with tape. Then, when your child needs insulin, the insulin needle is put into the cannula instead of into the skin. This way, your child won't have to feel the insulin needle. The cannula can be used for at least 3 days before your child will need a new one.

Diet

Your child needs to watch his or her diet closely. Again, this is an area many adults have difficulty with, and it can be even harder on a child. It helps if the entire family gets involved, eats healthy foods, and learns about counting carbohydrate. Although the lure of eating junk foods remains, you can balance your child's meals with healthier selections at home. Above all, a child needs to understand the relationship between food and his or her blood sugar.

Children may eat extra foods without telling their parents or other adults. This can lead to high blood sugar levels and hospitalizations. Make it clear to your child that eating equals a need for insulin, and he or she should always tell an adult when eating something that's not on the meal plan for the day.

It's helpful to incorporate the idea of balance into your child's understanding. If your child wants to eat a food not on the meal plan for the day, then your child needs to adjust the insulin dose to reflect this change.

School

School can also present a particular challenge for a child with type 1 diabetes. Because of the need to take insulin injections throughout the day (or use an insulin pump) and the need to eat on a regular schedule, children who have type 1 diabetes stand out from their peers. It may help if you encourage your child to explain diabetes to his or her friends and show them how the equipment works. Most children are merely curious and are eager to learn.

It is also important that you meet with your child's teacher, school nurse, and school administrators to discuss diabetes care at school. Make sure that the school has on hand the correct type of supplies and insulin for your child.

You should also meet with your child's gym teacher to discuss how diabetes is affected by exercise. Most gym teachers are not trained to recognize signs of sudden high or low blood sugar. So you must explain what symptoms your child may have and how to deal with them. Encourage your child to play sports and be physically active, because it positively contributes to his or her diabetes treatment. But physical activity will now take more planning than before. Your diabetes team can help you adjust your child's diabetes treatment plan for physical activity.

Independence

As children with type 1 diabetes grow, encourage them to take more control over their treatment. As a parent, you may want to be there every time your child gets an insulin injection. But it's important that you let your child develop independence.

There are many summer camps for children who have diabetes. Such settings can help children learn about their disease and about how to manage it. Also, the camp setting introduces them to other children who have type 1 diabetes. If you arm your child with the proper knowledge, it not only empowers him or her to take responsibility for self-care but also provides a greater understanding of the disease and why it's important to treat it.

Support for you

Remember that your family is not alone in dealing with your child's diabetes. Your diabetes team coordinator can direct you to local support groups as well as many resources on online and publications from organizations such as Diabetes Canada. In addition to providing emotional support, these groups can also direct you to information you need to overcome whatever hurdles arise in your child's experience with diabetes.