How to prepare a child with diabetes for school

Children and adolescents with diabetes have the right to attend a regular school and can participate fully in school life. The main thing is to organize everything so that the child is safe, and at the same time does not feel isolated from the team. In our country, this task falls on the shoulders of parents. We have highlighted a few important things to keep in mind if your child with diabetes is going to school. These tips are suitable for parents of schoolchildren of any age and dia -experience.

Prepare the school staff

First, talk to your class teacher about your child having diabetes and what this means in practice. If the teacher is ready to cooperate, it is important to give him (and if this is a secondary school, then for other teachers) and the school health worker a mini-lecture on how to act in different situations.

1. During lunch at school . A lot depends on your decision: for example, you can contact the child before meals, find out his CK (blood sugar), what he plans to eat – and tell him how much insulin to inject. The teacher may take it upon himself to remind the child of this. Or, if the child is small and uses an insulin pump, you can contact the teacher before lunch and tell him how much insulin to inject on the pump. Or a child of 12-16 years old can already do it all by himself, etc.

The task of the parents is to find a way to organize the child’s meals at school and agree on the details with the teacher or health worker.

2. During hypoglycemia – all teachers should know that your child at any time (even in the classroom!) Has the right to eat or drink sweets, measure BG with a glucometer or ask for help. Also tell the school staff about the signs of hypoglycemia in your child and the plan of action in case he loses consciousness (inject glucagon, call an ambulance, call you, etc. ).

3. During sports – a physical education teacher or class teacher can remind the child that it is important to measure the SC before this lesson, and if it is below 6, eat something carbohydrate (chocolate, fruit, biscuits, half a bun, etc. ). During sports activities in diabetics, SC can drop to a critical level quite quickly.

Prepare the child

1. Teach your child to be as independent as possible within the limits allowed by his age and level of development. For example, many first graders can already recognize the signs of impending hypa (hypoglycemia), understand that they need to drink or eat, and even inject themselves with insulin. Adolescents can independently calculate the required dose of insulin for the selected food, etc.

All these skills are a matter of experience. Therefore, preparation should begin in advance, talk with the child about his feelings, feelings, praise for success in controlling diabetes, etc.

Sometimes teaching your child self-management for diabetes takes up a lot of your time and nerves. But it’s worth it: the more independent a child is, the more satisfied he is with his life.

2. The child should always have something sweet with him to stop hypoglycemia. Some children need to be reminded of this so that they don’t give away everything when they treat friends or forget to restock.

3. If your child is using pens (rather than an insulin pump), teach them not to put their insulin backpack next to the battery or leave it outside in the winter where the insulin can freeze and go bad.

four. The child should always clearly know to whom he can turn for help. This could be a class teacher, a nurse, a social worker or a psychologist. Choose the most open for this employee of the school, discuss the situation with him. And if this school employee does not mind, remind the child that he can ALWAYS turn to this person.

5. If a child is worried about how they (with diabetes) will be perceived by their classmates , it is important to listen to the child’s concerns. Let him know that diabetes is just his new feature, and not something to be ashamed of.

If necessary, hold a meeting at school with classmates and their parents: tell them about diabetes, answer all their questions.

Explain that a child with diabetes is the same as anyone without diabetes. Usually such meetings help relieve tension in the whole class and bring the children together.

Prepare yourself

1. Even if your child is quite independent, you are still responsible for his health. Every day, you must be sure that the child took with him to school:

  • insulin,
  • glucometer + enough test strips,
  • sweet for cupping hypa ,
  • charged phone,
  • and that he feels fine leaving home.

2. Look after your child’s health, but at the same time let him be independent! The child should feel your support, but not feel pressure – for this, you need to discuss your experiences with children more often, consult with them, say that you will always love them, no matter what. Try not to call your child unless absolutely necessary when he is at school.

Please note that modern means of self-monitoring and insulin administration, such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring, greatly facilitate the period of study at school for both the child and his parents. If the family budget allows, be sure to take this opportunity.

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