Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ErinArg on December 15, 2008 at 11:26am

Timi-
I'm right there with you. My daughter called 911 at age 3 when I was passed out and my 3 week old son was in my lap! She called 911, then picked up her brother and moved him to the sofa and then called her father. She totally saved my life and prevented injury to her brother! She's written many stories about this event for school and has helped to educate many people! She's now 13.

I think it is SO important to educate your kids! My 10 year old son now wants to be the person who cures diabetes. Education open doors and turns dreams into reality!

Permalink Reply by Traci on January 26, 2009 at 7:40am

Yes, you NEED to tell them. While you may feel it is an additional burden for them to bear, I believe that there is a HUGE difference between educating your child and burdening your child. You are not burdening them with your day to day care. Most of your low blood sugars you are probably able to catch yourself and your child has no part in the financial responsibilities that diabetes carries. Rather, you are educating your child mostly on what to do in an emergency--same as they learn in school. The unknown often is scarier than the known. As the spouse of a diabetic, reactions are scary. Very scary. I tell my husband he misses that whole part since he's pretty well comatose. He misses the giving of a glucagon shot, checking his sugars every hour to make sure he's still okay, watching the ambulance cart him off, waiting for test results while he lies asleep in a hospital bed, etc. Your child will never have to carry the heavy responsibility your spouse would, but yes, you need to educate your child on how to call 9-1-1, etc. But most of all, you need to tell them that you love them, and if it ever occured, it's not their fault. Most of my husbands reactions have been the result of the flu, or some other illness where he was so sick so fast he couldn't replace the lost fluids and sugars in his body fast enough. It WILL happen to you someday, even if you think it won't. Your children DESERVE that right to know what is going on and what to do. They love you enough that they will be scared and will want to know what to do to help you. It's insane to me that parents WOULDN'T want to educate their children.

Permalink Reply by Patti Burns on February 20, 2009 at 2:56pm

Everything is so true, I didn't know I was diabetic about 15 years ago cause the doctors never tested me for it. So everytime I felt like I was going to pass out I would immediately go and get something sweet that would do the trick all the time but never thought I was diabetic till 11 years later. During the time my kids were young too, and they knew what to do if I passed out...call 911, address and all. So yes, tell the kids everything....knowledge is the best weapon to any situation. Patti

Permalink Reply by Cara on August 29, 2009 at 12:18pm

All 3 of my children were born after I was diagnosed as a type 1. So its all they know. They all have an idea of what to do, although fortunately, they've never had to call 911 for me. But I make utterly no secret about my diabetes. When my glucagon shots expire, we practice injecting oranges with the old syringes, so they get an idea of what to do. They understand when I need to test, I need to pay attention to what I'm doing. They know the cans of Coke in the car are for me if my blood sugar gets low.

Making it a secret for a child is unsafe if you ask me. I find my chronic illness has given my children more empathy towards others. My children understand I'm a bit different from other parents, and its ok. When I get low, I get very irritable, and I tell them afterwards I'm sorry, this is what happens sometimes when my blood sugar gets low.


The more educated a child is about something, the better for them, and the parent. No misinformation to get them into trouble.

Permalink Reply by Manny Hernandez on October 6, 2009 at 4:08pm

Here's a video we just included in the videos section of the site to help with the job of telling your kids about diabetes: