i was diagnosed when i was 9 and a half. like her, i knew when my bg was low i needed to eat or drink and i knew if it was high i needed to take more insulin. my parents never really made me wait to eat though. my parents managed alot for me but i also participated in my care too. they didnt really tell me any of the long term risks until i was around 13 i think.
this is only me…it may be different for her since she was diagnosed earlier, but looking back i dont think i really would have understood any of the risks. i probly would have brushed it off and went on with my life…
i hope this helps 
b
I think you meant to say “I would NOT go into great deal right now”. Oops!
Thank you for all the comments. I really appreciate all adult Type 1’s who were diagnosed as a child and their advice on when to bring up the whole complications thing.
Our daughter Adele is often anxious when it comes to sickness and I don’t want to cause her added stress by telling her about all the things that she needs to worry about concerning her long-term diabetes prognosis. But on the other hand, if she’s going to get that information somewhere, I’d rather it come from us and that it is explained in a way that makes her feel more secure about the whole thing.
She’s been on the pump since age 3 and we’ve been using the CGM since May of this year. Her best A1C was 6.5 (with too many lows) and the last 2 have been 7.7 and 8.0 (with a lot less lows). I’d like to bring it down to mid to low 7’s all the while minimizing hypos.
The plan is for her to go to Diabetes camp next summer, but so far she really doesn’t want to go.
thanks
Mike
Mike,
You’re doing all the right things. This is something to be assured of down the road when she’s 25-30. Teenagers sometimes go through a period of anger when they do learn of the potential complications. You and she together can review what you’ve done together and be satisfied together that she has a base of having taken the actions to give her life a good start on which she can build.
Working to keep tract of the grams of carbs - maybe using blanched almond flour (1/4 the carbs) in recipes - can help and build a base for cooking for life when one needs comfort foods. It sounds simplistic. I consider the teenage years scary (I raised a diabetic girl during her teens). I’m ever thankful for pumps and CGMs with instant feedback. Best wishes to you. And come back when you want to scream!!!
Scott is right ;Kids are smart ,they can pick up on thing real fast . Kids can handle most anything .We don’t give them enough credit . But if we treat information like a secret ,they’ll pick up on that too! It is more scarey when things are unspoken and it seems that you’re hiding something. Be honest answer the questions as they come. Don’t try to dodge them. You don’t have to drop all the information at once. No one can handle too much info at once not even adluts .It is too overwhelming but information should be contineous.
Hey Mike,
Just wanted to say that I didnt really wanna go to D camp either as a kid. Now Im 15 and have been going 4 years. Havent missed a year yet and I only have 1 year left as a camper. I was 12 when I finally went and I wish I would have gone sooner! My parents asked me when I was her age, but Im really shy so I said no. I felt like I wouldnt belong there. Now Im so sure I belong there. Everyone there is just like me! And you can let her read this too if you think itll help her feel better about going. If she has any questions about camp, she can ask me
b
it’s hard at that age, teen hormones tend to screw with things. Just do the best you can, coach her to do her best. Her true best. That is where coaching comes in. Sometimes folks tend to be all gloom and doom, sometimes all “it will be ok if you have a great attitude”. Neither of those really reflect reality, IMO. A coach will give you an “attaboy” when you do well and a swift kick in the butt if you are slacking. The most important thing that a coach can do is let them know that you have faith in them and that you are there to help.
I suspect you will all be fine
Hi Mike, My name is Lisa and my son Harry is 9yrs old and was diagnosed this April and like your daughter he understands pretty much as she does. He to particicpates in his care and has shown his teachers how to check his sugar levels and to give him injections.
Basically it depends on your child i think to how much you tell them. I wouldnt lie to Harry if he asks me a question i tell him, but i dont sit him down and give him a list of complications. He does know its serious and he has this condition for life, although as its fairly new to him he propbably hasnt thought of to many questions and problems that may occur. Just take it at your childs pace, children are normally inquisitive, follow there lead. Of course this is only my opinion it would be useful to hear of anyones experience in this matter
My children do not have T1. So of course they are not exposed to the risks and dangers of the disease. But at that age they were exposed to the risks and dangers of many other things. We educated them to the fullest extent possible if the risks and dangers were high. Like walking to school in traffic, firearms, poisonous insects and animals, drugs and alcohol, etc. We provided the “why” behind parental instructions in order to provide context and meaning. Given our approach to these other dangers, I think we would educate our child about T1 as fast and to the fullest we could. So my suggestion would be to teach her much more.
Best of luck to you.
The wonderful thing about kids… is they will let you know when they are ready… take the cue from her and if she asks a question about her diabetes answer it… but don’t give her more information than she has asked about, no more no less… kids are always a lot smarter then we give them credit for and you’d probably be surprised about what she knows about already.
My son is 11, we celebrated our one year dx anniversary in August. He knows about the complications. Not to the point of “scared straight” but enough to know not go outside barefooted and why. Don’t sit around and play video games for hours on end and why. The importance of a yearly eye exams and of course why he has to go every three month for the AIC blood draw. It seems like a lot for a child to absorb…but I agree, knowledge is power and yes, the counseling suggestion is great as well. My son sees the school psychologist once a week to talk about whatever he needs to.
Keep fighting the good fight 
I was diagnosed in 1976, am now 36. My parents sent me to a diabetic camp when I was 10. Mostly to learn how to give my own injections, but I also learned a lot. You might want to find out if thats an option. It was then that I realized that I wasn’t the only one. Of course that was before the internet.
i was diagnosed at age 9. they told me everything and it scared me a lot!! on the other hand this fear helped me try harder but not until i was around 12, when it really sank in and i was mature enough to understand the depth of it. i think if she’s doing well i’d give it a few more years until she can mentally grasp it correctly and not just get scared of words.
I was 9 years old when I was diagnosed with diabetes. I remember asking one of the nurses, “So, how long will I have to do all of this for?” she looked at me and said, “For a while, but you’re doing so good!” It wasnt until years later that I learned it was a chronic disease. At 9 years old words like FOREVER, LIFE-LONG, and CHRONIC were scary and my doctors and nurses did well by sheilding me from it.
At 9.5 your daughter doesnt need to know about the long term risks of diabetes. She has the rest of her life to worry about that. For now, let her be a kid and enjoy childhood. Let her worry about homework and BFF’S, not possible amputation and blindness. I do suggest though that you start letting her be more engaged in her diabetes managment. Something crazy happens to T1 diabetic and its called TEENAGE YEARS. You should look up some discussions here about it. Its a crazy time to have diabetes and when parents talk to you, all you hear is “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.” The more independant of you guy she is, the better off she will be. Good Luck
I gotta ask the question here - if this were another type of risk to your child, would you withhold the specifics, or the emphasis on danger? Take this hypothetical situation; drain cleaner.
“Daddy, what’s this can of white powder we found in the neighbor’s garage?”
“Well Sally, it’s just some stuff adults use to clean out pipes. Make sure you don’t play with it, and take it back to the neighbors, OK sweetie? It can hurt you.”
Or this:
“Daddy, what’s this can of white powder we found in the neighbor’s garage?”
“Sally! That is drain cleaner! It is highly poisonous, and can kill you. You should never, ever touch it. If it were to get in your eyes it could blind you. If you swallowed it we would have to rush you to the emergency room. And they would need to put tubes down your throat to get it out.”
I’m just saying I would give my kid the details. I did it with household poisons, firearms, illegal and legal drugs, alcohol, sex, you name it. As soon as the risk was present, we commenced to educate.
The world is a very scary place. Obscuring the facts doesn’t make it safer, it makes it riskier.