June 1, 2006
Behavior
Question from Eagle Lake, Texas, USA:
My 17, soon to be 18, year old son, is being very stubborn regarding checking his blood sugars and keeping his glucose levels down. I say stubborn, because I constantly have to ask him if he is checking his sugars, therefore I feel like a nag. I have expressed my concerns to him and wish I could make him understand that diabetes taken care of now is so important for later on in his life. He just says not to worry. I am so concerned and I worry about him constantly. His doctor says he is a very brittle diabetic. Do you have any suggestions? I don’t know what to do.
Answer:
It’s so upsetting to see your child make decisions that you are sure will be harmful in the future! As you so wisely pointed out, he sees your reminding him as nagging, which you do not want. I would recommend sitting down with him at an agreed upon time to talk with him calmly about your worries. Ask him what he thinks gets in the way of checking his blood sugars. Ask him if he has any ideas on how to overcome those things that are getting in the way. Offer to be the person to check his blood sugars for him, even for just a week, so he can have a “break”.
JWB
