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What can I do to help my child?
Diabetes is a life-long disease that can be effectively treated with good management. Proper management includes lifestyle changes such as being more careful about when and what your child eats and appropriately monitoring blood glucose levels. Such changes will place new needs on you and your child, and it is important that the two of you work together toward better management. Controlling diabetes is essential to avoiding potential future complications that are often linked to diabetes, such as damage to the heart, eyes, or kidneys. Positive management comes from communication between you, your child, and your healthcare team. It's important to help your child to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Some examples are:
- Prepare meals that are low in saturated fat and sugar
- Assist in keeping their calorie intake constant (fluctuations can affect blood glucose)
- Encourage regular physical activity
- Help to ensure that glucose testing is regular
- Make sure that insulin is being injected appropriately
- Be a positive force
This final point is vital as it is common for people to experience feelings of depression soon after being diagnosed with diabetes. Your child may have problems articulating his or her emotions so it is good to continue to be supportive and be on the lookout for signs of depression. Some of these may include:
- Mood changes
- Inability to concentrate
- Changes in behaviour
- Being constantly tired (either from too much or too little sleep)
If these signs become extreme and are more than you can handle on your own, it's a good idea to talk to a member of your diabetes healthcare team.
