In the United States, there are about 210,000 children under the age of 20 who have diabetes. Because this is such a huge issue, it is vital that you help your child learn to manage their diabetes.
Do you want to learn more about how you can help your child manage diabetes? Keep reading these tips for diabetes management.
1. Help Them Check Their Blood Sugar
Keeping tabs on your blood sugar is one of the most important parts of staying safe when you have diabetes. There are many situations where your child will need to check their blood sugar. Because of this, you need to teach your child to learn how to check their own blood sugar.
They can keep a bag full of all the supplies they need and bring them with them wherever they go. This bag should include a blood sugar meter, testing strips, lancets, and more. When necessary, it should include insulin and a glucagon emergency kit when prescribed by your doctor.
2. Learn About Diet and Exercise
Diet is one of the most important parts of managing diabetes for your child. High or low blood sugar levels can cause so many issues. So, it is important that they pay attention to what they are eating.
For example, carbohydrates and sweet foods can increase your child’s blood sugar. This can make it difficult to manage your child’s diet during parties, holidays, and other fun events.
While you can still eat yummy foods when you have diabetes, you need to make sure you are conscious of how much sugar you are having. You can help your child learn about their diet by planning out meals and snacks to eat throughout the day.
This will help them be more aware of the food that is going into their body.
Next, you want to help your child learn how exercise affects their blood sugar levels. Many people don’t realize that exercise can lower your blood sugar. This means that it is important to properly monitor your levels of blood sugar when you exercise.
If your levels are too high, you can exercise to help lower them! If they are too low, it is important to exercise less and to find ways to increase your blood sugar.
By incorporating a diet and exercise plan into your life, you can help your child learn to manage their diabetes.
3. Prepare For Specific Events
As part of your diabetes management, you want to make sure you prepare your child for the different events they will be going to. For example, if your child goes to school, you want to be sure that they know how to manage their diabetes in this different situation. This includes knowing when to eat snacks, how to administer insulin, and more.
If your child is going to an after-school event or a party with their classmates, you want to make sure there is a plan in place for this specific situation. This can help them know what supplies to pack, when to eat, and more.
Whether the events include school activities, spending time with friends, or even family vacations, you want to make sure your child has a plan to manage their diabetes in any situation.
4. Create an Emergency Plan
There are many potential emergency situations that can arise if your child has type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. This is why it is vital that you create an emergency plan.
First, you want to make sure your child always has an adult nearby that is trained to help them. If your child goes to school, make sure your teacher or the school nurse can recognize the warning signs of an emergency situation.
You can write out an emergency care plan to give to your child’s friends, coaches, or other supervisors. Having a written list of what to do in an emergency situation can potentially save your child’s life. You can also make sure they have your contact information if something goes wrong.
Some common diabetic emergency situations include blood sugar that is too high or too low. By constantly monitoring blood sugar, you can prevent many of these issues.
5. Help Them Manage Their Feelings
Finally, you want to make sure you help your children learn how to manage their feelings. Learning how to adjust to a diabetes diagnosis can be challenging for your child. There are many things that they need to learn and change.
While this can be very difficult, you want to make sure your child knows that it is okay to feel upset. By acknowledging your child’s feelings, you can help them learn to overcome their difficulties and find strength.
Unfortunately, you may also find that your child may be bullied because of their diagnosis. By helping your child find ways to cope with bullying, you can help them improve their social life and build independence as they learn more about diabetes self-management.
Learn More About How You Can Help Your Child Manage Diabetes Today
Learning how to manage diabetes can be taxing for you and your child. There are many things that you need to consider. These range from the types of food they can eat and how they can attend other events. However, there are things that can help you learn to manage diabetes more effectively.
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