My 10 year old son was diagnosed August '08. I barely let him leave my side then so this was not really an issue. With the nice weather coming he will be outside more. I don't want to hawk over him every hour to make sure he doesn't go low. Plus I want to allow him freedom to be responsible to check and manage his own care (he turns 11 in April) while with his friends - as not embarrass him :P
How often should he be checking while outside doing things like skateboarding or shooting baskets?
I believe its important to let him have some freedom, he needs to be able to establish on his own when he is feeling low. This is the hard part because we want to make sure nothing happens to our kids! he is old enough now to be able to come in a tell you if he feels 'different' after playing some sport or activity. Having him be active is SO important to maintaing control that if you keep watching him like a hawk, he may just give up and sit on the couch rather than listen to you. Maintaining as normal a lifestyle as possible is the best way I feel to let your child know that this just a PART of his life- not the end of the world.
My daughter is 9 and plays soccer. I check her when she begins, half time and then when the games over. I know its a lot, but I’ve had scary lows.
She’s very responsible and checks herself often. I do find myself being overprotective and not wanting to let her play outside with her friends, but she tells me please not to worry and that she will check herself. I trust her, but sometimes the lows come without warning. She has gone down to 26 with no symptoms expect me looking at her and just knowing something is wrong.
Our Endo recommends we check prior to exercise and then again 1/2 way through to see how the body is responding to the specific type of activity and then again after it is completed. A general rule of thumb for your son is to have 15 grams of carbs for every 30 minutes of high activity/exercise. Be careful when he is more active as it may actually affect his BS levels later in the day or during the night. Not to worry on checking, you test as often as you/he needs to feel comfortable. The first summer with my son I would check after an hour of activity. Now he is able to tell a little more about his lows (he is 5 and was diagnosed Oct. '07) so he is helpful in knowing and we test a little less than last year. One of the hardest things is letting go a little and learning to trust your own instinct and his awareness. Have him talk to/train his friends too. A strong network of friends will give him and you confidence.
Are any of your kids embarrassed to check in front of their friends? Or they say they are fine - but really going low and don't want to stop what they are doing to check?
It has been really rough learning to trust her but they do learn their own bodies and are truly amazing kids.
If she is outside playing I put 10 skittles into a little baggie and put into her pocket and tell her if she feels low go ahead and eat them and then we can check, regardless. I know summer time coming around the corner I will be a nervous wreck--espically with swimming.
My son is 10 and has had a pump for a year now. What we do is check before any physical activity (he is very active) and we also check before he goes out to play. Then, together we make a decision if he needs to pop a sugar in his mouth or not. He also has a cell phone and we have developed a system where he calls me and if he forgets I call him. Kids tend to get into what they are doing and forget to check. Our 'game' is to try not to let the lows happen. We do this via phone and working together. Also, his friends know about his diabetes and we review what warning signals of a low may be. His friends are all happy to be a part of the team and this also allows my son to have more freedom. If he is super active, we check him every hour to hour and a 1/2. Most of the time our system works. Sometimes we misjudge the activity and he will have a high..... that will happen and then we treat it. Keep fighting the good fight! :-)
If he has a pump remove it fort hese activites for an hour if they are intense. Otherwise have him eat prior and experiment how it affects his blood sugars. While my 7 year old is on swim team we disconnect for an hour and she eats a mini snickers prior and ends up perfect almost every time. If exercise is intense I check before and after. Otherwise check if he feels low. We normally check before meals and 2 hours after meals. Don't give him too much responsibility though, he is still a kid. Read what he needs- he has the rest of his life to be responsible for his diabetes and he may want more of your help right now. He'll let you know. I was diagnosed at 12 and I matured very quickly because of it. I was also very sad for a while- I needed my parents more than ever. The whole thing is very scary for kids this age already on the brink of maturity and hormone changes.