November 23, 2002
Other
Question from Ireland:
I want to know what to say to my four year old daughter who was diagnosed just over six months ago when she cries, tells me she’s sick of her diabetes, and asks if she going to have it forever. This doesn’t happen too often, thank God, and I usually get around by saying how lucky she is in lots of other ways.
Answer:
I understand how difficult it is to hear your child say these things. The concept of “forever” is loose in a four year old’s cognition. Please let her know that very smart people and physicians are seeking a cure and that most likely she will benefit from their research.
Telling her she is “lucky” is not likely to work. Tell her she wants to be healthy and strong in order to be first to be considered for the future possible cures for diabetes. Meanwhile, it might benefit you to join a parents’ group if you can to gain perspective from other folks whose children have diabetes.
CMB
