10 Simple Steps to Make Your Child His Own Diabetic Expert

Involving a children in their own diabetes care is critical. Sooner or later as a parent or caretaker, you have to give up your control of food, injection, amount and timing, blood glucose testing, and all the other tasks that are required for good diabetes care. When you do so, you want to know that you're turning over the care to a highly qualified individual, your child with diabetes

Before you turn over the care, you can do a lot to prepare your child by letting him participate in what you do for him. Start by asking for his ideas and views about how you take care of his diabetes. Be sure to listen to what he says and show that you take him seriously by turning his reasonable suggestions into reality. This collaboration will have many benefits for your child, including the following:

It will increase his self-confidence.

It will improve his communication skills.

It will expand his knowledge as you discuss his ideas and why they're appropriate or not. It will make him ready to take over his diabetes care when you think the time is right.

Following are the ten steps you should take to make him an expert caretaker of himself.

Set Some Goals for Care with Your Child:Your child probably doesn't know if he wants to be a doctor or lawyer at the age of 8, but by this time, he may have an idea of how to handle his diabetes. If not, this is a good opportunity to discuss the subject with him and to really listen and learn. If your child doesn't have goals for his diabetes care, this is a time to set some with him.

Show Your Child How to Test His Blood Glucose: Unfortunately, at least at present, testing blood glucose means pricking your finger. And that can hurt, although modern testing devices keep the pain to a minimum. As soon as your child has good hand-eye coordination (around age 7 to 10), start letting him prick his own finger for blood glucose testing. Remember, he may have to do this for the next 50 or 60 years. He needs to find out how to produce a drop of blood with little effort, to get the test strip ready for testing, and to get the blood on the strip with minimal effort.

Shop for Food Together: Although your child may initially think that all food originates in the super-market, having him join you there can be a very valuable lesson in choosing good foods and avoiding bad foods. Start this practice at age 4 or 5 because he'll soon have to make his own food choices at school.

Plant a Garden Together: If you have a little space in your backyard, plant a garden with your child. Your child will be amazed to find out that he can start with one small plant and end up with boxes of tomatoes! If you don't have the space, go cherry picking or apple picking or some other fruit or vegetable picking so that your child realizes that food comes from the soil.

Have Your Child Help with the Cooking: Food is such a major part of diabetes care that it's essential that your child be able to cook for himself and prepare healthy food. Letting your child help you cook has many benefits.

Exercise as a Family: Exercise, as you know, plays a key role in your child's health. You can't expect your child to want to exercise if he sees his parent sitting in front of the computer.

There are many happy stories of the closeness that has developed between parents and children who jog together, not to mention the stories of chubby, shy children who grew up into lean, assertive adolescents because they exercised with their parents.

Show Your Child How to Administer Insulin: You may want to delay the time when your child calculates his own insulin dosage until you're certain he can do it properly, but teaching him to administer the insulin is also something that should be done early around age 10.

Plan a Trip Together: Planning a trip is another chance to get good feedback from your child while you teach him what to be aware of when traveling with diabetes. He can start participating in the planning when he's old enough to go to school.

Have Your Child Do Household Chores: Involving your child in such tasks teaches him

A sense of responsibility

A sense of competence

A sense of self-reliance

A sense of self-worth

Encourage Your Child to Play: Video Games (Really!) Video games are a favorite pursuit of today's kids, and they have so many different games to choose from. Now there are video games that teach about type 1 Diabetes, Top games are Starbright Life Adventure Series, Diabetes and Packy and Marlon.