How to Teach Diabetes Treatment to a Child

Diabetes is a lifelong disease that requires constant management and monitoring. When children are first diagnosed, their parents take on the brunt of their care. Parents ensure that their child's medication is measured and administered properly, monitor their child's blood glucose levels and plan meals to meet their dietary needs. As a child grows, he needs to learn how to do these things for himself so that he may one day manage his diabetes on his own.

Instructions

• 1

  Take your child shopping. This is a good way to teach a child what foods she should eat and what foods she needs to avoid in order to keep her blood glucose levels stable. When you take a child grocery shopping, you can teach her how to read food labels and explain what foods hurt her and what foods help her. Doing this on a regular basis will form the foundation she needs when she is on her own.

• 2

  Show your child his medications. Your child, whether he is taking an oral medication or using inject-able insulin, needs to know how to measure and prepare the correct dosage for himself. You can start by giving him a quick lesson about his medications, what they do and why he needs to take them at specific times throughout the day. Then slowly teach him how to measure and prepare his medications. Eventually, you can allow him to give himself his own injection. Supervise all of these processes until you are certain that your child knows what he is doing.

• 3

  Practice emergency situations. Even though you take all of the precautions possible to avoid incidents of low blood sugar attacks, you still have to ensure that your child is prepared in case one happens. Have a plan ready, especially for the times you are not there to help her. Make sure your child knows what the symptoms of an attack are and what she needs to do when it happens. You may want to go over this plan two or three times a week, making sure she knows what foods or drinks she needs to carry with her at all times.

• 4

  Show your child a glucometer. Your child's glucometer is almost as important as the medication he takes to control his blood glucose levels. It is important for him to know how to use the machine, what the readings mean and how to track his levels. Start slowly by explaining the process to him a little bit each time you test his levels. Then ease him into using it himself while you supervise.

• 5

  Plan meals together. Allowing your child to help you plan meals and snacks gives you the opportunity to ask her what she would like, and then correct her choices slightly if you know they could hinder her treatment. Explain why her choices are not beneficial to her and ask if she can think of something else just as tasty that would help her condition rather than hurt it. This gives your child a sense of participation in her treatment and a diabetic education at the same time.

• 6

  Prepare meals together. Meal preparation is just as important as meal planning. Children need to learn how to measure and portion their meals according to their height and weight so the food does not adversely affect their blood glucose levels. By showing them at least once a day how to do this, they will be prepared in the future when you are not there to do this for them.