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Tips for Helping Your Child Cope with Diabetes Adjusting to diabetes takes time, and dealing with it is a daily challenge. Here are some strategies for helping your child cope with diabetes. The more your child participates in his diabetes care (at an age-appropriate level), the more healthy and confident he will be. Emphasize that he is the captain of his diabetes team. Learn about diabetes. You’ve taken a great first step in reading this book. You and your child can also learn about diabetes from your local American Diabetes Association, from a diabetes educator, and from other books and Web sites. As you both learn more, you’ll both feel more confident about taking care of diabetes. Share with family and friends. Encourage your child to share his knowledge about diabetes with family and friends. Don’t force him to talk about his diabetes if he’s not ready, though. Gentle encouragement and sensitivity are best. Talk to others with diabetes. Your child may benefit from participating in a support group for children or teens with diabetes. (And you may want to get involved with a group for parents of children with diabetes.) Ask your doctor or diabetes educator or call 1.800.DIABETES (342-2383) to find out about diabetes support groups in your area. Talk about feelings. Allow your child to express his feelings—both positive and negative. Don’t make light of negative feelings ("It’s not that bad!"). Agree with him that diabetes is unfair or difficult, but go on to reassure him that you are there to help him through the hard times. Try to re-focus. In the time after diagnosis, it’s normal to focus on your child’s diabetes to the exclusion of the other parts of his life. But as soon as possible, try to re-focus on your child as a whole person—not just "a diabetic child." Support all aspects of his life. Adapting…and Re-Adapting Eventually, you and your child will come to a point of accepting his diabetes. You’ll both begin to feel more confident about the daily tasks of diabetes care and it will become a habit for your child and the rest of the family. But diabetes doesn’t go away. As your child grows, you will face new challenges: how much responsibility to give him; how to deal with changes in diabetes treatment; how he can adapt his diabetes treatment to life changes (like beginning high school or going away to summer camp). Expect your child to go through tough times and better times in his diabetes care. As he matures, he may need increased support at some times and demand increased independence at other times (sometimes all in the same day!). In short, you, your child, and the rest of your family will adapt and re-adapt to the demands of diabetes. To adapt as easily as possible, foster a sense of teamwork about diabetes care. When the whole family is supportive and knowledgeable about your child’s diabetes, it is easier to take change and challenges in stride. Emotions For more information on emotions and how to deal with them, go to our Emotions fact sheet.
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