Top Five Tips To Help A Child With Diabetes

Do you have a child with diabetes? As a parent, it is your responsibility to help your child learn how to deal with their condition. Go over this article for some useful tips.

Prepare healthy meals for your child and pack some snack for them. Your child should not eat any kind of food that contains a high amount of sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Foods rich in fat, preservatives, sodium and other unhealthy ingredients should be avoided to. You need to design an entirely new diet for your child; make sure they eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fibers and drink plenty of water.

Encourage your child to exercise. If your child is overweight, helping them get in shape is a priority. You could play sports together or find another activity they enjoy; think about taking them to a dance class, the swimming pool or simply going for walks. Your child does not need to work out or follow a fitness program. Being active should be enough.

Teach your child how to protect their feet and develop an excellent oral hygiene. Diabetes increases the risks of developing gum disease and can cause infections to spread very quickly. Make sure your child always wears protective footwear and knows how to keep their toenails clean. Teach them to brush their teeth and use floss every day. Your child should not be scared of developing a complication, but they should be aware that they are at risk for health issues because of their diabetes.

Your child needs to learn about nutrition. Take them grocery shopping with you and teach them to recognize healthy foods from bad nutritional choices. Your child needs to know about the five food groups and have a good idea of which foods are rich in whole grains, fibers and sugar. You could also prepare food with your child. Choose simple recipes they will be able to remember and prepare again by themselves. Consider going to a cooking class together if you do not feel confident about your own cooking skills.

You need to give your child more responsibilities so they get into the habit of managing their diabetes by themselves. Show them how to use their test stripes and monitor and let them check their sugar level by themselves. You could for instance get them a watch on which you can set up an alarm to remind them to check their sugar level.

Let your child prepare their meals and snacks too, but do not hesitate to double check to make sure they picked healthy foods. Give your child more responsibilities as they get older. They should be able to manage their diabetes alone by the time they are teenagers. Be available and offer to help if they need you.

These tips will help you provide your child with the guidance they need to take control of their condition. Do your best to help them and encourage them to become independent at the same time.