It takes time, education, and support to enable your child to become a self-advocate. Here are our top 5 tips on how to help your child become a fully independent monster tamer.
Tip #1: Educate your child
Remember, knowledge is power! Especially when it comes to diabetes. Educating your child about diabetes will enable them to fully understand and grasp their diabetes. The more your child understands about diabetes, how it affects them, and how to manage it, the more confident they’ll feel taming the monster when you’re not around.
It’s important to keep your child’s diabetes education age-appropriate. Some helpful suggestions include:
- For younger kids, use simple terms when it comes to explaining things. Let them have some control by choosing their own injection site or which finger gets used for a blood sugar test.
- Continue to educate your child as they get older. Encourage them to ask questions at doctor’s appointments and always be open to conversations they might want to have.
- When it comes to teens, it’s essential to educate them on alcohol, drugs, sexuality, and any other issues that can have an impact on their diabetes.
Tip #2: Offer plenty of support without nagging
Support from parents can have a big influence on a child’s diabetes management. Your child is likely to need your support from the moment they’re diagnosed. Good support from family members can be key in helping kids stay on track. Parental involvement, support, and communication at mealtimes can be particularly helpful.
Make an effort to keep mealtime communication flexible. Avoid criticism to encourage healthy conversations about healthy eating. Good communication and lack of judgment at mealtimes can help children learn how to have a handle on their diet in the future.
Tip #3: Consider support groups or camps
The gift of a diabetes community is worth its weight in gold. Look into diabetes camps or local support groups so your child can mingle with some diabuddies their own age. Kids can learn a lot from people who are going through the same thing.
It’s easy to worry about your child’s ability to stay on top of their diabetes, particularly in social situations, but trust them. Being part of a diabetes community is a way to reduce isolation and provide support. Kids will feel less alone and less afraid to ask questions among people their own age.
Tip #4: Get kids Involved in their care plan
To help kids become diabetes advocates, get them involved in their care plan with their healthcare team. Support from healthcare professionals is important and offers another way to receive more diabetes education. It also helps to get your child used to interacting with members of their healthcare team now, so they can continue to work closely together and advocate for themselves as they grow up.
Tip #5: Help kids make use of technology
Health-tech can help kids advocate for themselves and become better at managing their diabetes with less supervision from their parents. There are plenty of great apps to help keep track of blood sugar levels and provide kids with a sense of independence as they manage their diabetes.
Why not try out text blood sugar reminders? Other handy tech suggestions include using a planner or online calendar to come up with a care plan together, setting alarms and reminders on your child’s smartphone, having a digital checklist of supplies, and setting up medical information on a smartphone that others can access in case of an emergency.
We get it, it’s nerve wracking worrying about how your child will navigate their diabetes alone. Which is why it’s so important to begin arming your child with the knowledge and confidence they need to manage their diabetes independently. But remember, even as they become more independent and even grow up to be adults, they’ll always appreciate and benefit from your support.
