November 4, 2002
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
We have a new child in our daycare center who has diabetes, and he he comes to daycare with a slice of cheese and a yogurt for his breakfast. We feed the child a snack and lunch. We have asked the parents to fill out how much the child is allowed to eat, but we were told us it didn’t really matter, and we are becoming very concerned about this because his blood sugar readings have been very low. Can you recommend some way of us to measure and be sure he is getting the right amount of food? We have another child in the daycare who also has diabetes and have been using the numbers from his parents but it doesn’t seem to work. Anything you can tell us would be helpful.
Answer:
It it is important that you ask the parents again if they can be more specific with regards to the amount of food (either carbs or exchanges)that the child requires. The parents should have met with a Registered Dietitian at diagnosis to develop a meal plan individualized to the child’s caloric needs and food likes.
If the parents tell you they are unfamiliar with such meal planning or it’s “been put on the back burner”, I would ask you to encourage them to set up an appointment with an RD who specializes in diabetes meal planning for children.
JMS
