Diabetes has already taken away their carefree childhood so aren’t they entitled to just “be a kid”?
Of course the answer to this is yes, but what happens when “being a kid” threatens their life?
For most parents you have to worry about your children getting older and experimenting with different things, dangerous activities, etc for it to really threaten their life.
Unfortunately for parents of children with diabetes every day “kid” activities can threaten their life. Activities like
- Getting an extra cupcake at a birthday party
- Eating all their Halloween Candy in one sitting
- Running around outside playing kickball from sun up to sun down
- The occasional “sneaking of a treat”…..
I am in no way saying children with diabetes cannot eat these things, because they can. These items just require insulin to cover the carbs in them. But what happens if the kids sneak them because you know they are just “being a kid” and do not give themselves insulin for them? Well their blood sugar goes through the roof! That’s what happens, it’s now to the point of endangering their life.
It’s just all part of the territory of raising a child with diabetes. You have to let them be a kid, but still somehow manage to magically protect them from every possible thing they can get their little hands on to. And sometimes, just sometimes it’s overwhelming!
