A friend asked my 15 yo son to go on a spring break trip to FL with his family. He has never been asked to do this before. Frankly, once he was diagnosed at 9, any sort of party invitations stopped. Really stunk. I talked with the Mother, trying not to scare her so much she would change her mind, yet scaring her enough to know that this is a serious disease ensuring she thinks this is a good idea. Turns out she does have some experience with T1D and so this isn’t completely new to her. I discussed with other family members and they encouraged me to give him this opportunity. While it is so scary for me, it is probably the right decision. We have discussed with Son that it is critical he take care of himself. Since this invitation, he has been taking better care of himself than he ever has. Regardless, I am very, very nervous. I am preparing all needed paperwork and notes to review with the Mom. My question for you all, have you gone through this? Any tips on a good plan to make sure he keeps me up-to-date with his care while he is away? Any input is greatly appreciated.
when I was 15, i went to Sun Valley Idaho with my friend’s family. it was awesome. you will need the practice anyway because in 3 years he’ll likely go away to college.
you trained him. he listened. now it’s his turn. I guess the hardest thing we have to do as parents is let them go. You can only prepare him. I know it seems hard, but the truth is you won’t always be around to protect him. I hope he has a great time. I hope you are okay as well.
I have a son whovis 15 with T1 too. I get your worry completely and utterly. I agree that you need to let him go. My son is going to India with the school next yr at 16. Diagnosed Seot 12, up until now his trips away without us have been a few sleepovers and a few 2 night trips, nothing more. And during those I have had a text from him in the mornings when he wakes up. They have to be allowed to live their life and take responsibility for their diabetes but as parents its just so hard to let them.
Best wishes to u 
My 14 year old daughter (diagnosed at age 7) will be going for a week to the beach with a friend at spring break.
In preparation, this past year - her endo has been encouraging me to back off with self-management and to allow her to “fail” and learn how to live with this as an individual. It’s hard and when she comes to me and says - mom I don’t feel well . . . and I ask what her bg is and she replies I bet its high i forgot to bolus for xxx. It frustrates, worries and makes me sometimes feel like I’m not doing enough. But just the other day she said to me again with a high bg, " mom I have to get this under control . . . please help me - I knew it was time for me to step back in. So we sat down and loaded her pump into her computer and her meter too and I looked at the data and saw the places where she was not blousing or managing well - I let her look at the data and asked what do you see? By giving her the freedom to figure it out - she’s been making so much more progress in the past week to do better . . . I know its only a week - but I told her if I did not see her making good management decisions - I would not be able to let her go with her friend to the beach for Spring Break. She wants this, almost as bad as she wants her phone screen fixed and enough $$ to buy a formal dress! So I have really had to sit back and watch her fail and learn and get back up and try and see her success in how she feels.
Its hard to be a parent of a Type 1 kid, and I knew this day was coming when I would have to let go of the reigns some. But it’s also really exciting and wonderful to see her taking an interest in taking care of herself! I’ll of course want texts and calls daily . . . and hope I get them. And I plan to educate the mom with the emergency stuff - without scaring her. Good luck!