
August 24, 2001
Daily Care
Question from Evansville, Indiana, USA:
My 10 year old son was diagnosed at age five, mom is getting very weary of doing everything, and my son is very unreliable. What counseling or educational opportunities might be available to help teach my son to take on more responsibility of his own diabetes?
Answer:
The transition to more independence in caring for a child or early teen’s diabetes is a difficult one for many folks. Most folks that offer comprehensive care for diabetes will have someone on the team experienced in helping to deal with these issues.
The answer to your question really depends on so many issues that it will be best addressed by sitting down with one of the diabetes professionals on your son’s diabetes team to find the solution that will work best for you. In my experience, it is much more difficult to get parents to loosen the reigns than asking the child or teen to take more responsibility.
MSB