My 10 year old daughter, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago, appears to still have trouble accepting that diabetes is a reality in her life even though she does her own blood testing and injections (twice daily). Each morning and evening there is an argument about having her injection, she refuses to get in the routine of keeping records of her sugar levels, and my husband and I feel as though we constantly admonish her which upsets all of us. I would be very grateful for any advice you may be able to give.

If your daughter’s meter does not have a meter with a memory function that would keep track of the results of her blood sugars, it might help to get one. Having said that, it sounds as if puberty, and the rebellion that normally accompanies it, are on the way!

Power struggles rarely work out in managing diabetes. It is now time to really “pick your battles” carefully or life will be a constant tug of war. At 10 years of age, your daughter still needs some supervision in terms of her techniques and constancy. I am sure you and your husband provide this. She also needs to assume some responsibilities on her own and handle those competently. Since you cannot be with her 24 hours a day, and since she will need freedom to grow, now is the time to build up basic trust that she both can and will do what she must to stay healthy.

CMB