How can I assist a four-year-old in understanding he is just like other children even if he has type 1 diabetes? The child said something that makes me think he needs a therapist to help him with his anger about his recent diagnosis.

Preschoolers learn the most about their world by experiencing it (as opposed to discussing it). The more your child is treated by other people in the same manner as his peers, the more he sees that can do the same things as his peers, then the more he will feel as if he’s pretty much the same. However, the truth is that diabetes is not something that everyone else has and that does make him different. But differences are not necessarily bad. Is there something about diabetes that makes your child feel as if there are things he cannot do that his peers do? If so, it would be important to address that directly with members of your child’s diabetes team.

JWB