Everyone is different. Your diabetes may vary. What works for one may not work for another...and it may not even work for the same one the very next day. To each his own.
Diabetes is unique...it's individual...it's sometimes so varied that it will make your head spin. I think a lot of times we tend to offer advice or comments to each other sharing our own experiences and opinions on how this disease should be managed. It's all fine and good...but should definitely be taken with a grain of salt, I believe. Just because your child learned how to test their own blood sugar at 2 years old, does not mean that every child should be doing it too. Just because your 12 year old sets their alarm for middle of the night checks and can treat their own lows and stay awake to retest before going back to sleep.....does not mean every 12 year old should. In fact, age should not really be a factor in the management choices when it comes to diabetes. Some kids are more mature than others. Some are more responsible than others. Some are more independent than others. Just because you still wake up to check your sleeping child's blood sugar, does not mean that you are a neurotic micro-managing parent. It just means that you are doing what you feel needs to be done. Own it. Don't be afraid to feel good about your methods and your choices.
I guess it's a tale as old as time really...once we become parents, we have a tendency to compare.....your kid started walking at 10 months? Well my kid is a year old and still not walking...does that mean I'm doing something wrong or that there's something wrong with my kid? Your kid can spell their name, recite the alphabet in Spanish, and count to 400 in under two minutes? Huh....well my kid can take off her own socks!
I'm not sure why we do these things really....why we feel the need to compare...or why we take offence to those who proclaim that we should be making our 10 year old handle their diabetes management on their own. We should be confident in our routine...our skills...our method to this madness.
It's not a black and white solution. You won't find all the answers in a handbook. Each kid is different and no one knows our kid better than we do. We know what they're capable of. We know what they can handle and what we still need to help them with. No one else does. Not our friends...not our family...not even our doctor. We know and our kids know and we need to remember to have confidence in that fact.
Well said. I often struggle with these comparisons and how rude some people are when they insist you should do things a certain way...
ReplyDelete