by: Jay Chirino
Diabetes in your child affects the entire family. It can change your life and your child’s life for the worst. But that doesn’t mean that diabetes should prevent your child from enjoying a fulfilling life full of health, joy and happiness. Knowing what to do, doing research on the disease and working closely with your health care team will help you and your child overcome diabetes.
Diabetes in Children
Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in children. In recent years, type 2 diabetes has also been diagnosed, probably because of the spike of unhealthy habits and obesity in more developed countries.
Causes
The cause or causes of childhood diabetes are still not known, but the factors are believed to be much the same as with adults: viruses, genetics and the environment play a role in childhood diabetes.
Symptoms are also similar to adults: Increased appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Behavioral problems may also be a symptom of diabetes in a child.
Treatment
Most diabetic children are treated with insulin. Insulin shots are the most common way of administering the insulin. Older kids also use insulin pumps for treatment.
As with adults, control of blood glucose levels is important, and an essential part of doing this is by having a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Talking to a trained dietician will help you come up with healthy eating habits for your child.
What You Must Do As a Parent
You play an important role in your child’s life with diabetes. The very first thing you must do is understand what your child is going through, and learn how to deal with the situation in beneficial way. Educate yourself and find out what you must do to help your child face the challenges of diabetes, both emotionally and physically.
Become familiar with your child’s treatment
About The Author
Jay Chirino is webmaster of Your Life with Diabetes, a website dedicated to providing free diabetes information and resources.
yourlifewithdiabetes.com
admin@yourlifewithdiabetes.com
Showing posts with label child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Diabetes And Your Child's School
by: Vivian L. Brennan
If your child has diabetes, it is probably type 1 diabetes, which means that your child is insulin-dependent. Even if your child has type 2 diabetes, you will want to tell the school so that your child is supported during their learning process. You want your child to get the most of their education, and that means helping to make sure that your child gets the proper care at school.
1. Meet with the School
You will want to have a meeting with your child’s teacher, every year. This will probably take about 30 minutes to an hour to discuss the teacher’s questions and your child’s needs. Bring along information about diabetes. There are even pamphlets on diabetes aimed at teachers that you can bring with you.
Your child’s teacher is going to wonder, “Do I have to give insulin treatments?” The answer is that no, teachers are not responsible for giving injections. Many children manage their diabetes without ever getting insulin injections at school. Others get their injections at school, and are supervised by the teacher while they do this.
Help the teacher understand the blood glucose monitoring system that your child uses. It might be helpful to create a chart that explains what the different levels of blood glucose are, and what action should be taken for each one.
It is important to determine what policies the school has in place for diabetics. If there are no pre-existing policies, you can help your child’s school create thoughtful and inclusive policies.
2. Ally yourself with the Teacher
Especially with younger school-aged children, they might not understand the importance of eating their regular snacks. Ask the teacher to help remind your child to eat these snacks.
Your child’s teacher is the best person to observe your child during the day. A common occurrence for children with diabetes is that they develop low blood sugar before lunch. Have the teacher monitor your child to see if there are patterns of lethargy that should be noted and altered (possibly with an extra snack). The teacher can help remind the child to do blood testing as well.
3. Prepare your child
Before your child goes to school, be sure that they understand diabetes. You will want them to know what their responsibilities are.
Remember that as your child grows up, you are transferring the responsibility of monitoring and regulating their own blood sugar from your hands to their hands. During this transition period, you might find that your child makes a mistake, and occasionally misses snacks. This is a normal part of the growing up experience. Help your child overcome these mistakes, but allow your child to make these mistakes in the first place.
Consider getting a medic alert bracelet for your child, or similar piece of identification that explains that they have diabetes so that emergencies can be averted or cared for properly.
4. Help pack the lunch.
When your child is young, you will probably be the one packing their lunch to take to school. Be sure to pack extra snacks in case your child gets low blood sugar at school. Or leave some extra snacks with the teacher if you are worried that your child would eat them all at once. Pack some snacks that are quick to eat, such as carrot sticks instead of an apple, so that your child won’t have to
5. Know your rights.
Even though your child is diabetic, your child has a right to participate in every athletic event, field trip, and class outing that is planned. Your child has a right to monitor their blood sugar when necessary, and to eat snacks when they are needed. Your child also has a right to free access to water and to the bathroom. Your child will also be allowed to take as much time as necessary to eat the needed snacks. These rights are mandated by federal law in Canada, and by state law in the United States. If you feel these rights are being violated, begin by contacting your teacher to discuss how you can solve the situation. If this does not work, speak to your school principal, and take it further if necessary. Most times diabetes education will help the school meet your and your child’s needs.
The teachers, facilitators, and administration all want your child to succeed in school. Help them by giving them the salient information about diabetes. This can be an experience in ongoing education for you, your child, and the school staff. Let your child help in this education. If your child wants to do a presentation or project on diabetes, encourage them to share their knowledge. If your child prefers to keep quiet about diabetes, respect that right as well.
About The Author
Vivian Brennan is an editor of http://www.theguideto-diabetes.com/living_with_diabetes/. For tips on how to deal with diabetes at any age or stage, check out the The Guide to Diabetes.
If your child has diabetes, it is probably type 1 diabetes, which means that your child is insulin-dependent. Even if your child has type 2 diabetes, you will want to tell the school so that your child is supported during their learning process. You want your child to get the most of their education, and that means helping to make sure that your child gets the proper care at school.
1. Meet with the School
You will want to have a meeting with your child’s teacher, every year. This will probably take about 30 minutes to an hour to discuss the teacher’s questions and your child’s needs. Bring along information about diabetes. There are even pamphlets on diabetes aimed at teachers that you can bring with you.
Your child’s teacher is going to wonder, “Do I have to give insulin treatments?” The answer is that no, teachers are not responsible for giving injections. Many children manage their diabetes without ever getting insulin injections at school. Others get their injections at school, and are supervised by the teacher while they do this.
Help the teacher understand the blood glucose monitoring system that your child uses. It might be helpful to create a chart that explains what the different levels of blood glucose are, and what action should be taken for each one.
It is important to determine what policies the school has in place for diabetics. If there are no pre-existing policies, you can help your child’s school create thoughtful and inclusive policies.
2. Ally yourself with the Teacher
Especially with younger school-aged children, they might not understand the importance of eating their regular snacks. Ask the teacher to help remind your child to eat these snacks.
Your child’s teacher is the best person to observe your child during the day. A common occurrence for children with diabetes is that they develop low blood sugar before lunch. Have the teacher monitor your child to see if there are patterns of lethargy that should be noted and altered (possibly with an extra snack). The teacher can help remind the child to do blood testing as well.
3. Prepare your child
Before your child goes to school, be sure that they understand diabetes. You will want them to know what their responsibilities are.
Remember that as your child grows up, you are transferring the responsibility of monitoring and regulating their own blood sugar from your hands to their hands. During this transition period, you might find that your child makes a mistake, and occasionally misses snacks. This is a normal part of the growing up experience. Help your child overcome these mistakes, but allow your child to make these mistakes in the first place.
Consider getting a medic alert bracelet for your child, or similar piece of identification that explains that they have diabetes so that emergencies can be averted or cared for properly.
4. Help pack the lunch.
When your child is young, you will probably be the one packing their lunch to take to school. Be sure to pack extra snacks in case your child gets low blood sugar at school. Or leave some extra snacks with the teacher if you are worried that your child would eat them all at once. Pack some snacks that are quick to eat, such as carrot sticks instead of an apple, so that your child won’t have to
5. Know your rights.
Even though your child is diabetic, your child has a right to participate in every athletic event, field trip, and class outing that is planned. Your child has a right to monitor their blood sugar when necessary, and to eat snacks when they are needed. Your child also has a right to free access to water and to the bathroom. Your child will also be allowed to take as much time as necessary to eat the needed snacks. These rights are mandated by federal law in Canada, and by state law in the United States. If you feel these rights are being violated, begin by contacting your teacher to discuss how you can solve the situation. If this does not work, speak to your school principal, and take it further if necessary. Most times diabetes education will help the school meet your and your child’s needs.
The teachers, facilitators, and administration all want your child to succeed in school. Help them by giving them the salient information about diabetes. This can be an experience in ongoing education for you, your child, and the school staff. Let your child help in this education. If your child wants to do a presentation or project on diabetes, encourage them to share their knowledge. If your child prefers to keep quiet about diabetes, respect that right as well.
About The Author
Vivian Brennan is an editor of http://www.theguideto-diabetes.com/living_with_diabetes/. For tips on how to deal with diabetes at any age or stage, check out the The Guide to Diabetes.
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