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Healthy eating

Your child needs to eat healthy meals with appropriate portions to support growth and prevent weight gain. The meal plan for your child will also spread carbohydrate throughout the day to prevent high blood sugar after meals. For information on healthy eating and weight management, see the topic Healthy Eating for Children.

For help learning about carbohydrate counting, see:

Diabetes in children: Counting carbs.

Physical activity

Encourage your child (age 6 to 17) to do moderate to vigorous activity at least 1 hour every day. If your child enjoys watching TV or playing computer and video games, limit the time spent in these activities. Guidelines for child and teen fitness may be helpful in encouraging your child to play sports and take vigorous walks or go bicycling with family members.

For children older than age 2: The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to limit TV time to 2 hours a day or less. For children age 2 and younger: To help your child's brain develop, it's best to talk, play, sing, or read together instead of letting him or her watch TV.

Work with your child's teachers and school to make a plan to handle your child's special needs, including testing blood sugar and eating snacks when needed.

For more information, see:

Diabetes in children: Preparing a care plan for school.

Your child can take part in the same activities as other children. For safety:

• Let the coach know that your child has diabetes. If your child does not take insulin, he or she may not be at risk for low blood sugar episodes, but giving the coach a copy of the symptoms of low blood sugar may still be a good idea.
• Take your child's home blood sugar meter to sports practice sessions and games. Check his or her blood sugar level before and after each activity if needed.
• Take a snack that contains carbohydrate to all practice sessions and games in case of a low blood sugar episode.

Home blood sugar monitoring

You and your child will need to monitor his or her blood sugar frequently to know how well it is under control. Talk with your doctor about the safest blood sugar range for your child. Young children may need a higher blood sugar goal than adults because of growth needs and to prevent very low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). As your child grows older, the goal can be lowered so that it is closer to the recommended normal or near-normal range.

Diabetes in children: Checking blood sugar in a child

Insulin injections

Your child may not need to take insulin if his or her blood sugar levels are staying within a target range with meal planning, exercise, and possibly oral medicine. But at some point your child may need to take insulin because the pancreas may produce less and less insulin.

If your child takes insulin, you and your child need to know how to prepare and give a shot. See:

Diabetes in children: Giving insulin shots to a child.

Other issues

Other important issues include:

• How to recognize and treat high blood sugar. Blood sugar levels that suddenly rise above a target range can lead to an emergency.

  Diabetes in children: Preventing high blood sugar

• How to recognize and treat low blood sugar. Your child is not likely to have a sudden drop in blood sugar level unless he or she is taking sulfonylurea or meglitinide medicines for diabetes or insulin injections and is unable to eat regular meals.

  Diabetes in children: Dealing with low blood sugar

  Diabetes in children: Preventing low blood sugar

• Wearing medical identification at all times. In an emergency, medical identification lets people know that your child has diabetes so they can care for your child appropriately.
• Where to get support. Many areas of the country have support groups for children and teens with diabetes and for family members. These groups provide encouragement and suggestions that may help you and your child deal with the daily issues of diabetes care. Talk with your doctor about groups in your area.
• How to care for the feet. Your child needs to wear shoes that fit properly. He or she should not go barefoot, even in the house. It's a good idea to begin the habit of inspecting your child's feet at the end of each day. Look for signs of injury or infection. If you notice a foot problem, even a minor one, talk with your doctor before treating it.
• What to do for illness. Some general sick-day guidelines may be helpful. These include checking your child's blood sugar every 4 hours during the illness and encouraging your child to drink fluids to prevent dehydration. Do not give your child any nonprescription medicines without talking with a doctor or pharmacist. Some of these medicines can affect blood sugar levels.

What to think about

Childhood and the teen years are a difficult time to be diagnosed with diabetes. Normal developmental changes may interfere with your child following his or her treatment. Teens also may deny their diabetes, rebel against treatment, or participate in risky behavior, such as using drugs or drinking alcohol.

You play a major role in helping your child become independent in his or her diabetes care. Allow your child to do as much of the care as possible, but give your child the support and guidance he or she needs.

• Children in elementary school can cooperate in all tasks required for their care. By age 8, children can test their own blood sugar with supervision.
• Children in middle school or junior high school should be able to test their own blood sugar, but they may need help during low blood sugar episodes. By age 10, some children can give insulin injections with supervision.
• Teens should be able to handle their care with appropriate supervision. If the teen needs to take insulin, he or she may choose to use an insulin pump instead of injections. If your teen chooses to use a pump, be sure to supervise.

  Should I get an insulin pump?