Can anyone share with my how they found a babysitter to care for your child with D when you can’t be there? We are at the point were we need to have a night out or a few hours away and I haven’t been very successful in finding anyone to do it.
I had three people so far whom I entrusted my daughter’s care…
First was a friend of a friend, who was type 2 diabetec herself. She run a daycare at home, so she was my daycare provider for a while.
Second was another daycare person, whose own daughter is diabetec. Her daughter was only a year older then mine and went to the same school.
Third was my friend’s teenage daughter, who was looking for a Summer job. Now, that was interesting…
I think if you could find a person who is willing to learn and then follow your instructions, then you should be ok. I am not having too much luck with it myseld at the moment… Most people seem to listen but don’t really get it, unless they are dealing with the same issues.
Well we’re pretty lucky in that we have lots of family around, but I did get the number of the sister of one of the counselors at Diabetes Camp. There were also a couple of the counselors who go to college nearby that I would probably call as well. Is there a diabetes camp near by where you live? Any even if it’s not real close you might be able to call them and see if any of their counselors go to school near you. I’d also try my local chapter of JDRF and see if you could ask some of the other parents who they use. If you have a medical college near by you could maybe try them as well. Good luck. It is tough trying to find someone you feel comfortable enough with to leave your child.
Thanks you guys! Great ideas. I am also checking with a girl that I just met that has a daughter that has diabetes.
Hello! I am a member of safesittings.com where you can find babysitters in your area that cater to your specific needs! Hopefully there will be a babysitter near you that specializes in diabetes!
we don’t have family nearby, but have come up with a couple of solutions so we can go out for a few hours. Fortunately, we have two older kids (12 & 14) and both know how to help Abbie with her BG check and pump. So option 1 is our regular babysitter with an older sib given responsibility for helping. Other option is the office secretary at our daughter’s school. She’s part of Abbie’s school ‘team’, knows how to help her with all d-stuff, and as an underpaid public school employee is open to earning some extra $$. We’ve also talked with another family with a diabetic child about doing babysitting swaps, but haven’t tried it yet.
good luck!
We have actually been really lucky with local teenage babysitters. The youngest being 13 - and honestly the most responsible. Both of the girls I have used have taken the Red Cross babysitting training with CPR/First Aide. they live close in the neighborhood, are very interactive with the kids (ie - less TV - more play), And have been great with Willow’s needs. Although - Willow is really self-sufficient - with the exception of knowing how many carbs are in some foods. She can do most of her management on her own. (She is 8). The babysitters both call me just after she has eaten anything and we calculate the carbs . . .It worked out wonderfully this summer
We also have my mother close by so she helps some . . .
Carb DM has a list of experienced babysitters, many with T1D themselves on their website for people living in Northern California. http://www.carbdm.org