N D E P logo - link to National Diabetes Education Program   National Diabetes Education Program
ndep.nih.gov campaigns

When Your Child Is Diagnosed with DIABETES:
PARENTS' QUESTIONS for the Health Care Team

Parents of children with diabetes often have concerns about the disease, its impact on their family, and how to keep their children safe and healthy. Use these questions to talk with your child's health care team and learn about your child's diabetes care needs at diagnosis and later on as well. To find out more about possible answers, use the links under each set of questions.

Image of a family with grandparents parents and childrenWhat are the different types of diabetes?

  • Which type of diabetes does our child have?

  • Will it ever go away?

What does this mean for other members of our family?

  • Does it mean our other children will get diabetes too?

  • What about other family members?

What are my child's treatment goals?

  • Image of smiling girlHow can we help our child meet these goals?

  • How often will our child need to visit you each year?

What other health care team members can help care for our child's diabetes?

  • How do we contact them?

How can we work together as a family to help our child?

  • How can we help our child check blood glucose, take insulin, eat healthy foods, be more active, and learn about diabetes?

  • Who can help us work together as a family?

Image of a group of teenagersWhat emotional issues might our child and family face?

  • Will diabetes affect the way our child behaves?

  • When do we start letting our child manage his/her own diabetes care?

  • Who can help us cope with these issues?

Should we tell friends and family about our child's diabetes?

Image of children in classroomWho can help us if we don't have medical insurance?

What resources are there to help our child in school?

What research is going on?

Three large nation-wide studies are under way.

The TODAY study wants to find the best ways to care for type 2 diabetes in children and teens and has begun in 13 medical sites. To find out if you can join go to www.TODAYstudy.org.

Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet is a group of studies looking at ways to prevent or to treat type 1 diabetes early. To find out if you can join go to www.diabetestrialnet.org/public.html or call1- 800- HALT- DM1(1-800-425-8361).

The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study will help us learn about how type 1 and type 2 diabetes differ, what medical problems arise, the health care children receive, and how diabetes shapes their daily lives. www.searchfordiabetes.org

A lot of other research is going on. To find studies in your area, talk to your health care team and visit the JDRF and ADA (links below).

Additional Resources for Parents and Children

National Diabetes Education Program
www.ndep.nih.gov or call 1-800-438-5383

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF)
www.jdrf.org or call 1-800-223-1138

Children with Diabetes
www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

American Diabetes Association ( ADA )
www.diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383)

 

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NDEP logo H H S Logo The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Diabetes Education Program is jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

August 2006 Reviewed by Janet Silverstein, M.D. Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida