My five year old daughter, diagnosed at the age of 18 months, has a lot of problems with hypoglycemia at night. She is starting school in a week, and I was wondering if a pump would help her get better control of her diabetes.

The insulin pump may be able to give her better control, but there are some other options you might try first to deal with the nighttime hypoglycemia:

Try a larger snack at bedtime or use one of the bars that contains cornstarch, which provides small amount of glucose pretty evenly overnight.
With your daughter’s diabetes team, discuss the possibility of changing her to a different insulin schedule such as taking longer-acting insulin before bed or trying Lantus (insulin glargine) {This insulin has only been approved for use in children over age six, but you still might want to check it out with your daughter’s team).
Do some blood glucose testing in the middle of the night to see if she is low. Better yet, your daughter’s situation might well be clarified by monitoring sugar levels continuously for several days to try to sort out what’s happening in more detail. See The Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, and talk with her diabetes team about using it.

If you are really interested in a pump and your daughter’s diabetes team will be there to assist you, certainly give it a try, but the above options may work and be a little easier.

LSF