Discovering That Your Child Has Diabetes

Discovering that your child has diabetes can be overwhelming. The good news is that diabetes can be managed. With the support of a health care team, you can help your child learn to live a long, happy, and healthy life.

Hi, I’m Dr. Griffin Rodgers, the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH.

To help your child manage diabetes, work with their health care team to build the best treatment plan and to learn about controlling their blood glucose level, or blood sugar. Some ways to help keep blood glucose levels closer to normal are

• Choosing healthy foods and drinks over processed foods as much as possible
• Keeping active every day by walking or playing a sport
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Taking medication as prescribed, and
• Monitoring blood glucose

Also, remember to share your child’s diabetes care plan with staff at their school.

For more tips, follow us @NIDDKgov. This is Dr. Griffin Rodgers.