Dealing with childhood diabetes, from diagnosis to sleepover, prevention and more

Turn the page now for our guide to coping with diagnosis, dealing with a slumber party and parents' stories!

If you’re the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes, you will never forget the date and exact moment you first learn about the diagnosis.

Life changes forever on that day. The first weeks and months can be overwhelming and filled with emotion. It takes time to adjust to this new lifestyle.

As a parent, it can be very challenging to assimilate.

But know this: diabetes is not your fault, and there is nothing you could have done to prevent it. The exact causes of type 1 diabetes are still unknown and extensive research is under way to one day find a cure.

I speak from personal and professional experience. I was diagnosed with type 1 at age 16 and grew up to become a certified diabetes educator specialising in children and adolescents. This means I can share an important lesson: type 1 diabetes is not a disability, it is a chronic condition in which the pancreas simply stopped working.

How you choose to view this condition will eventually shape how your child sees it. That is why parents are such an integral component of a child’s diagnosis. A parent’s responsibility is to provide the tools needed for appropriate long-term diabetes management.

If you choose to view your child’s diabetes as a medical condition that can be managed, rather than some sort of a disability, your child will be able to do anything they want in life.

Eventually, when it’s your child’s turn to fly solo, they will do it with confidence and ease. Teaching a child how to manage their diabetes independently – without burdening them with too much responsibility – is the tricky part. There is no single way of caring for a child with diabetes. Diabetes management is very individual; what works for your child may not work for another. Here are my top survival tips for parents with newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes.

Snack wisely

Before being diagnosed with diabetes, snack time might have been your child’s favourite time of day. Now, snacks will need to be planned to fit your child’s schedule, activity and blood sugar readings. Two to three snacks a day, with a set number of carbohydrates, may be needed to ensure proper nutrition and stable blood sugar.

Advocate for your child at school

Diabetes management does not take a break, which means your child needs appropriate medical care at school. It’s important to ensure both you and your child feel comfortable going to school and managing diabetes. Schools are responsible for providing a safe environment for students to thrive. Children with diabetes need to be allowed to check blood sugar as needed, inject insulin when necessary, and treat low blood sugar.

Schools are often unaware of the complexity involved in the care of a child with diabetes. The NDSS and Diabetes Australia have published ‘Mastering D1abetes in Preschools and Schools’, which you can download for your child’s teachers to ensure they have the best care possible.

Meet with a registered dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator

One of the most challenging aspects of managing diabetes is food. Your children can no longer ‘just eat’ like other kids. Instead, children and parents must become part dietitian and part mathematician to balance food and insulin. A nutrition and diabetes expert can teach counting carbohydrates by reading nutrition labels, and using a food scale and measuring cups. And a diabetes educator can assess how many carbs are appropriate for your child’s age, weight and activity.