Unfortunately, when it comes to sickness and diseases, children can be subjected to it too. As much as you would like to protect your child from any hurt, harm, danger or illness, there are some things parents just can’t protect their children from. If you have a child who lives with diabetes, there was most likely a huge shift in both you and your child's everyday life. The feelings of anger, confusion and even helplessness could have developed with this new diagnosis and that’s understandable. Though the feelings are valid, it’s important to know your options on what you can do to help your child.
How Living With Diabetes Affects A Child
Living with diabetes as a child changes their life in more ways than one. One way they are affected by diabetes is through their blood flow.
Children living with type 1 diabetes have a higher risk of developing narrow blood vessels making it harder for the blood to move throughout the body.
They’re also at a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes once they get older. No longer can a child binge on sugary sweets because too much sugar can cause damage to the walls of a child’s blood vessels, which are used to nourish the nerves.
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Diabetes can also affect a child’s learning due to it creating difficulties for children to pay attention, how their brain processes things and their memory.
This can cause issues when a child is in school and living with diabetes because if they have no proper support from the school, the child’s development might start to be in jeopardy.
Forget What You Heard: Diabetes Does Not Run In Your Family!
Important Facts You Should Know As A Parent
It’s important to know everything you can about a disease you or your child may be struggling with. Now, this doesn’t mean going overboard with consuming knowledge to the point that you start to obsess. Simply learn the important points of the specific type of diabetes your child is living with so you know what to expect and prepare for.
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Fact 1: There are two main types of diabetes, Type 1 and Type 2. Most children have Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is when the blood glucose is too high and the body cannot make the hormone (insulin) that’s needed to help with high glucose. This type of diabetes just happens and no diet or specific type of lifestyle is the cause of it.
Fact 2: Though Type 2 diabetes wasn’t found in children as commonly as adults in the past, it’s now noted that more younger children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is when the body doesn’t use insulin well. The good thing is, Type 2 diabetes can be regulated with diet and exercise.
4 Helpful Tips For Children Living With Diabetes
- Make sure that they continue living as a child should. Worry and prevention will only make it harder for the child and can have long-lasting effects on their mental health.
- Make healthy eating and exercise fun for your child. Make the plating fun when preparing meals, use colors and engage your child in activities outside the home even if it’s a simple walk every day after school.
- Put them on a schedule that they’ll remember without you around. Teach them (and the adults around them) a helpful and fun way to remember when it’s time to take their insulin
- Change the words that you use. It’s important for your child to know that they are living with a disease but make sure to use positive words instead of negative ones. Be uplifting when speaking on diabetes with your child so they learn that though they are living with it, it is not the end all be all.
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What To Do To Prevent Symptoms From Worsening
In order to prevent symptoms from worsening, it’s important to monitor when they first happen. Make sure to know what to look for when dealing with diabetes symptoms.
Once you know what these symptoms look like in your child, monitoring how often they might appear is crucial.
Regular check-ups are important to monitor how your child’s body is handling diabetes and or reacting to the insulin or treatments given. Making sure that you and your child are aware of the glucose levels is a key way to stop symptoms from worsening as well.
Check on the sugar levels several times a day. Healthy eating and getting enough exercise are helpful tactics to prevent worsening symptoms as well.
It’s easy for children to live well with diabetes. As long as you find what works for them and maintain it, they’re bound to have a normal and wonderful life.
