I’m around little kids alot and as soon as they see my pump or Shyla’s service vest (Shyla is my diabetic alert dog) they ask about it. Of course I say I have diabetes and of course they ask “whats that?” I’ve been really confused on how to explain this to kids in a way they understand it. I mostly get questions from 6 and under. Occasionally an older kid around 8 or 10 will ask. I know the older ones can understand more than the little ones, but can they fully understand it? Come to think of it, I kinda have a hard time explaining it to anyone…
Any advice welcome!
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I had to explain diabetes to a little kid (about 7). I kept it short & simple. I basically said that we all have an organ inside our bodies called a pancreas & showed him where it was located. The pancreas helps provide energy from food we eat by producing a special chemical called insulin I explained that my pancreas doesn’t work, so I have to take shots of insulin. He understood & then asked questions about the shots. Was cool how interested he was.
there was a diabetic book that I saw as a child that my mom was given … one of the comments in it was “just tell them that your blood is to sweet and as a result you are diabetic” it didn’t make much sense to me then but it did shut me up about asking … lol that and made me mindful of all the sweets I wonted to eat.
I don’t really know how to explain it to a child of any age really other then linking it to something that they can relate to on what ever level (Shyla lets me know when my blood is getting to sweet or is going sower") shrugs
i work in a preschool (ages 2-5) and sometimes my omnipod is visible. all the little ones will ask “what’s that?” - i just tell them it’s my medicine. they know what medicine is, so it’s understandable to them. when i move my pod to a hidden place, they all ask me where my medicine is!
Thanks everyone! This was really helpful!
I was trying to remember what I was told since I was diagnosed under 6 yrs… and the one thing that stuck with me was that insulin was the key that opened the doors and provided energy for the body and that for some reason my body didn’t make insulin which is why I needed to have shots…
I don’t even try to explain it til they are around 10 b/c their minds can’t comperhind it. I think your very nice to tryand explain it to the younger ones but they have trouble understanding. My daughter’s always grew up with me and the pump and now my granddaughter’s know “You don’t touch the pump or the BS machine” Now got that 5 month old coming up and he will learn the samething. My daughter pumps too (she a Type 1 like her mom) so they just know.
I’m a little late responding but oh well 
I teach first grade (6-7 year olds) and sometimes my pump can be seen. They inevitably ask what it is. I tell them it’s my medicine. By the end of the school year most of them can hug me, feel the pump, and not even notice it. They just get used to it and accept that it’s my ‘medicine’. I find that they accept this and usually don’t ask any more about it!
cool! thanks Kari