Diabetes At Home
Adjusting takes time and patience for all family members. Everyone may have to get up a bit earlier on weekdays to fit in the new routine. Your child may not be able to sleep in as late on weekends. At first, you will need to plan meals in advance instead of acting spontaneously. You will have to remember to pack extra food for your child when he leaves the house. In the long run, though, all these adjustments become second nature.
Whenever possible, both parents should help with the diabetes care routines. Feelings of resentment, fatigue, and stress can build up if one parent has to do all the planning and work. You should work together to prevent “burnout” by sharing the load. Give each other time away from diabetes duties. It also helps to plan time together, apart from your child or children, just as you did before. Your child will also benefit from growing up in a household where diabetes responsibilities are shared evenly.
In single-parent families, it helps if another family member or a close friend can help with your child’s care from time to time. Maybe they can provide relief by babysitting. Take steps to ensure that babysitters and other caregivers know enough about looking after a child with diabetes. Most diabetes teams will provide education for people helping with care at this level.
The challenge your family members may face is to fit diabetes into their lifestyles, rather than letting it control their lives. This may require some creative problem-solving, often with help from the diabetes team. A strong support system of grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends, and even support groups can do a lot to help you deal with the demands of diabetes. They may provide practical or emotional support. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from your diabetes team.
The effect of family on diabetes care
Type 1 diabetes has a big impact on your family, and the way your family functions also affects diabetes management. Factors that are linked to healthy adjustment include:
- family sharing of responsibilities
- feelings of family togetherness
- the ability to problem-solve
- little conflict between family members
- consistent child care
When there is lots of stress in a family, it’s hard to think through problems and solve them effectively. As a result, diabetes care may be compromised.
Healthy attitudes in the parents are very important in helping children adjust. Children take their cues from their parents and are sensitive to their feelings. When parents are consistent in their expectations and agree on the approach to diabetes management, the child is more likely to follow the routines. It also helps if parents are used to problem-solving and have developed coping strategies to deal with stress in their own lives.
Attitudes and beliefs
How families cope with diabetes depends in some ways on their attitudes and beliefs. Those who see it as a serious but manageable condition will cope better. Families may have a harder time if they feel overwhelmed, are not sure of their ability to cope, or are negative about the future. These attitudes and beliefs may be influenced by the family’s past experience with diabetes. Families who know someone who is having a difficult time with diabetes may feel very negative about their own child’s situation. If you are feeling this way, the diabetes team can help your family keep things in perspective. Science and technology have changed the outlook for people with diabetes. There are positive steps you can take to lower the chance that your child will develop complications in the future.
At first, some parents view their child as being sick or fragile. With a little time, education, and experience, they soon learn that their child is still healthy. They have to try not to be too concerned and overprotective. This may interfere with the child’s normal development. Diabetes should not stop children and teens from doing all the things their friends would do. It’s just that extra planning is needed to ensure their safety.
Balancing supervision with independence
Both you and your child will need to learn new skills and take on new tasks. These added responsibilities can change family relationships. With very young children, the responsibility for all day-to-day activities will fall on you. However, as your child grows and matures, he will slowly and steadily take over more of their own care. It will change from being completely parent-oriented to stages of shared care. Finally, late adolescents and young adults take complete charge of their diabetes management.
Do not give your child too much responsibility too quickly. Once your child or teen is skilled at a set of tasks, then new tasks should be added. If parents do not provide support or are not consistent, teens tend to have more problems with their diabetes. Some health care providers tell families to give as much responsibility as possible to the child. They argue that it’s the child’s diabetes and the child must become skilled in managing it. However, the best balance calls for parents to continue to support and encourage their teens. The goal is to help them establish and maintain the best possible level of glucose control. Parents obviously walk a thin line between giving too much responsibility too early and being overprotective. That’s another reason the diabetes team is there to guide you.
Your teen may be successfully managing her diabetes care without much supervision. However, you will need to become more involved when the going gets tough. This could be during periods of illness, stress at school, or other emotional problems.
Emotional impact on brothers and sisters
Siblings go through the same emotions as other family members. They may feel:
- guilt that their brother or sister has diabetes and they don't
- fear that they too may get the disease, or that their sibling may become really sick
- anger that you stopped buying sugar-coated cereals or baking chocolate chip muffins
- jealousy because their sibling seems to get all the attention
It’s a challenge to meet everyone’s needs. Brothers and sisters need to be given the opportunity to express their feelings and emotions. They need to know that they are still loved. They should be encouraged to join in the education program. This will help them feel involved in the new family reality. It will also give them the information they need to feel safe and comfortable with their sibling with diabetes. Many parents find that spending special time alone with brothers and sisters eases the impact on them.
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