My 14 year old son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in December 2003. It has been an uphill battle to get him to check his blood glucose levels without my constant reminding. Today, he told me he hasn’t checked them all day and he really doesn’t care what they are. I told him he has to know if he is “in range” all the time to avoid any long term and/or short term problems. He said he doesn’t care what happens to him. How can I get him to be responsible for his health? I can I make him understand the importance of all the things he needs to do? I don’t want to nag, but if I don’t, nothing gets done.

Your son’s frustration with blood sugar checking is very common. It is rare for any child as young as 14 to really be concerned about future, long-term health issues. I’d encourage you to talk with your son about how you can be most helpful to him around blood sugar checking, since this must be done even though he hates it. Would he prefer that you check his sugars for him (many teens like this, especially first thing in the morning when they’re tired)? Would he prefer that you bring the meter and lancet to him when it’s time to check, no matter what room of the house he’s in? Would he prefer some other way that you can support his checking? Do not expect him to “be responsible” for remembering and checking on his own right now, as that will only make you feel more frustrated as you see that he is not meeting that expectation, which he is telling you he cannot do at this time. Perhaps sometime within the next year, he will become more independent with blood sugar checks, but don’t push him, as he will need to have a good attitude toward checking for the rest of his life.

JWB