This is the second book I'm reviewing that is targeted toward parents of kids with diabetes. The first, Guide to Raising a Child with Diabetes, was great. So naturally when I started 100 Questions & Answers and Your Child's Type 1 DiabetesI was wondering why someone would choose one over the other. Frankly, I think both do a fantastic job of explaining diabetes and parenting, and they do so in very different ways.
100 Questions & Answers and Your Child's Diabetes, written by science and medicine reporter and parent of a young child with Type 1 diabetes Elizabeth Platt, Jerrold Olshan, MD and Maryann Waterman, PNP, FNP, CDE, is just that: 100 very good questions that parents will ask when their child is diagnosed with diabetes (and for a long time thereafter, I'm sure), and clear, well-articulated answers to them.
The questions include practical topics, emotional topics, basic information about diabetes, logistics of caring for a child with diabetes etc. Here are some examples:
What is Hyperglycemia?
Why might my child have a high blood glucose reading?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an insulin pump versus injections?
How do I cope with the stress this diagnosis has put on my family?
What do I do if my school system is unwilling or unable to work with me to care for my child?
... and 95 more.
Additionally, in the introduction Elizabeth Platt, whose son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 18 months, explains that she wrote it because she had been unable to find resources for parents of children who were too young at the time of diagnosis to express what they were experiencing, or recognize the symptoms of blood sugar fluctuation. She notes that the information available was predicated upon the ability to fully communicate with the child, even though diagnoses at infancy is becoming more and more common. This is something I hadn't thought about before, and I think her experience is invaluable to other parents of very young kids with diabetes.
It's an easy, well-organized read, and I highly recommend it.