Sweet Talk for Parents of Kids with Type One Diabetes

It can be so hard to even think about how to let our T1D kids have more independence, but I really believe that it's hardest for those of us who had kids diagnosed when they were really young. For that special category of T1D parent, we've been so closely knit into the diabetes management, so part of every T1D decision, that it's harder for us to step back and let our kids fly.On today's show, I talk to one of those moms. Her daughter, now 14, was diagnosed in kindergarten — and mom is struggling with the normal independence that her daughter wants to have. She talks about how diabetes reset (and raised) the level of her day-to-day anxiety, leaving her worrying about every number and every possibility. It's a hard habit to break, especially as her daughter wants to walk out the door to the school dance carrying a teeny purse with no room for low supplies.So she and I brainstorm: We think through ways she can talk to her daughter about bringing those supplies without creating a fight. And we also talk about the ways that mom can to release the iron grip of her anxiety. As I always say, it doesn't mean she should unclip her diabetes seatbelt — her daughter does need to have low supplies at the dance — and mom has some work to do to let some mistakes happen. After all, if our kids are out of range because they mis-dosed for a boba, it's not the end of the world: In fact, it becomes a moment to have a conversation about how to this about it differently next time. Together, we think about the ways that our kids learn diabetes management (spoiler alert: step by small painful step) and how we can support that process. And we look at the importance of having faith in who our children will become, both as people, and as people with diabetes. Even if your child was diagnosed when they were older, so much of this is familiar to all of us with T1D kids: the anxiety and the letting go.Hope you enjoy the show!

When our kids are first diagnosed with T1D, our anxiety spikes. Normal for all of us — how could it not? But what happens when it stays so high that we can never get a break from it, when we're feeling anxious all the time and aren't able to step away from diabetes?That's what I'm talking about on today's podcast episode. Natalie, mom of four year old Amara who was diagnosed at eight months, came on the show to share the ways she's having trouble turning down the volume on her own anxiety about diabetes. Even though this makes so much sense — her daughter was diagnosed at 8 months! and she's still so young! — we look at the toll it's taking on Natalie. The irony is that Natalie theoretically knows what she should be doing to help herself feel better— before she had Amara she was a meditation teacher. But now she's having trouble leaving Amara with anyone else to make time for self care. Even though we spend a little time problem solving this — and noting the ways that Natalie has recently taken new steps to get some support — I challenge Natalie a lot in this episode. I emphasize all of the reasons that it's essential for her to take better care of herself, not least of all because she wants to model a good relationship to diabetes for her daughter.Listen in to hear about other ways we T1D parents can think about shifting our narrative about diabetes so we can recharge ourselves.Hope you enjoy the show. Natalie's Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieCalzadilla

What is the anecdote to the terror we feel when our kids are diagnosed with diabetes? Today's podcast guest, Brooke, has one compelling answer: Activism When Brooke's six-year old daughter was diagnosed, she was in the ICU and had a 24-hour period when it was touch-and-go if she would live. Today, three years later, Brooke feels like the doctors should have seen some of the signs earlier. But her solution isn't to complain and get angry; her answer is to get out and spread the word, being sure that everyone around her knows what the symptoms are of T1D, as a way to help prevent this same kind of trauma from happening to others in her community.While Brooke talks about how sharing her story helps her to heal the fear that she felt three years ago, we also look at the ways she's still living in that fear, how it comes up with her two other children and her worries about them having T1D, how it shows up in her extreme expertise about diabetes. Through the conversation, we discuss ways that Brooke can go beyond activism to turn the volume down on her fears, and work through the trauma of her daughter's diagnosis, from getting her other kids tested for antibodies regularly to the potential for therapy for herself. In listening, I think we all recognize pieces of our own diagnosis story and the ways we learned to cope with the new challenge of diabetes as it entered our lives. Hope you enjoy the show!

Teens and T1D! I remember that before my son hit his teens, I swore that our lives wouldn't be as hard as what I was hearing from parents in the trenches. I was so sure that we were going to do better than all those other parents. And now I can humbly say that there is no easy path forward with teen kids: There are so many challenges as our kids grow up and transition to being independent with diabetes management.On today's podcast episode, we get one flavor of what it's like when you're in the teen trenches. Rob comes onto the show to think through what to do about ongoing conflict he and his wife are having with their almost-17-year-old T1D daughter. All the conflict centers on a new pump that they changed to a few months ago. The settings they are using for the new pump aren't working — but their daughter is digging in her heels, insisting that she's going to continue to do it her way. And her way means lots of LOW lows, massive number of juice boxes (Rob is buying them in bulk at Costco) and many-too-many sleepless nights for mom and dad. Basically, this teen has staked her turf, insisting that she be independent around the settings on this pump, even as it's causing frustration and danger. There was some good news, though: Rob noted that at their last endo appointment, he heard his daughter repeating back to the doctor all the things that he had articulated to her about the reasons the pump didn't work. She clearly just can't talk to him about it yet, but she is integrating it. Bottom line is that sometimes with our teens, we have to lean into the village. One suggestion? Have more endo appointments. Let the endo direct this conversation with his daughter. After all, if our kids won't listen to us, it's important to find a proxy who we trust — and who they are wiling to listen to. We also looked at the way that this diabetes management issue is hijacking the relationship Rob and his wife have with their daughter. At this point, any time they try to talk to her about it, they end up in an explosive argument. I made a few key suggestions of how he can approach her so they can find a way to discuss it without a fight. Hope you come away with some additional tools to apply to the hard moments you have with your T1D kiddo, either now or when they finally it those rocky teen years.Enjoy the show!

One dilemma I've heard from parents again and again: If my T1D kid is acting out because of a high blood sugar, how do I parent that? Do I give my kid a pass because I know that their high affects their mood? Or do I parent the behavior as though diabetes isn't operating in the background? In this week's episode, Julie comes on the show to talk about how this issue is playing out for her 6 year old son, Ethan, when he's at school. It sounds like Ethan has an amazing teacher: She's paying attention to his diabetes and wondering if his high blood sugar might correlate to some disrespectful behaviors that she's seen. The problem is that Julie and her husband haven't seen that same correlation at home: Although they know that their son is very wiggly, has a lot of energy, and likely has a hard time sitting still — especially in the afternoons at school — they haven't seen disrespectfulness when his blood sugar is out of range. At the same time, when he's high — or has a big case of the wiggles — Julie will take him for a run to help him get his energy out or bring his blood sugar down, something teachers can't do for him at school. Whether diabetes is driving Ethan's behavior or not, we came to the conclusion that the teachers might be overly focused on Ethan's diabetes, giving a reason for his not-so-stellar behavior when it would be better to just treat it as a behavioral issue.Truth be told, we really never can know how our kid's blood sugars are affecting them. But in my experience working with T1D adults, I found that they often felt frustrated with their parents for attributing their behavior to highs when they were kids. And the reality is that we all need to strive to be our best selves, even under less than ideal circumstances. So in the show, we talk about different ways we can help our kids show up as their best, whether it's the high blood sugar getting in their way, or just the wiggles.Hope you enjoy the show!

I often say that diabetes sits on the fault lines in our lives: If you're struggling with your relationship to food, diabetes makes it trickier to figure out how to eat. If you're challenged in asking for what you need from friends, diabetes adds extra pressure. If you're finding yourself in conflict with your spouse, diabetes sits right there. In this week's episode, Jessica comes on to the show to talk about the worries she has about where diabetes is sitting for her 7-year old: Grace is struggling to make connections with peers, but Jessica isn't sure how much diabetes is playing a role. Bottom line: Grace doesn't like it when classmates ask about her devices. And she's in good company there — many kids are uncomfortable about that. At the same time, I pointed out to Jessica that Grace's classmates don't seem to be mean, just curious. Together we thought about ways that Jessica could explore with Grace about what, exactly, makes her uncomfortable, as well as playing with different ways she could respond. At the same time, I leaned into validation, knowing that that could be so powerful for Grace. Jessica said that “if I were in second grade and had diabetes, I would probably feel that way too” — and I reflected on how great it could be for Grace to hear that from her. Certainly, we did problem solving, from Jessica organizing playdates to talking to the classroom teaching to thinking about the value of a social skills group for little Grace. But mostly we sat with how hard it is for a kid to have type 1. We sat with that uniquely parental fantasy we have that T1D is struggle enough and that our kids should have nothing else to deal with. At the end of the day, this is what caring parents like Jessica wish for their kids. Hope you enjoy the show!

We all know that transitions can be hard for kids — and adding diabetes to the mix often makes them even trickier. On today's episode I spoke about this with Kaylor Glassman, the founder of Diabetes Support Partners and a fellow diabetes coach whose opinion I really trust. Together, we thought about what's going on for the 5 year old son of a listener who seems to be struggling with some separation anxiety. But the issue is confused because instead of it being a straightforward nervousness about mom leaving, he's saying that he's worried about whether new adults are going to be able to take good enough care of his diabetes. Kaylor started with such a good point: She noticed that mom is taking the very brave step of leaving her son with new adults in the first place, something that's often hard for us T1D parents. And this kiddo is making it trickier, since he's questioning whether he is T1D safe with these new adults. The tricky thing, of course, is that talking about diabetes in this way might just be a way for a child to express general nervousness. After all, they know that they will have our attention if the conversation is about T1D. But ultimately, I believe the antidote to this new anxiety is to continue to reassure this kid that he is safe. After all, this is what we want for our kids (and for ourselves!): a safety net of trusted adults that they can rely on besides mom and dad. So what to do to help? First of all, stay the course. This mom should keep practicing leaving her son with safe adults and continue to communicate her confidence that he will be fine. Kaylor and I talk about how important it is to think about your tone as a parent, letting your child know what's going to happen, and being attentive to their potential worry, but also leaning into the idea that everything will be alright so we don't allow anxiety to grow. We talked through other great strategies to manage a child's anxiety and to help them see and understand that their worries aren't always a good predictor of what's actually going to happen. Finally, we thought about how our own anxiety might actually be in the mix. Yes, this mom is doing an amazing and brave thing in dropping her T1D kid off with new people, but often we adults have to talk through and process these new steps for ourselves and our little ones pick up on our energy. As hard as it can be, we have to try to protect our kids from our own worries. Listen to hear more about:*Timing a conversation with your child about a new experience so they have less time to worry*Why it might be important to circle back to talk to a child after they've done something that makes them nervous*How to strike a balance between validating our kid's experience and keeping their anxiety small*Ways we can protect kids from our own anxietyHope you enjoy the show!

There are those shiny kids who know how to do diabetes and have been doing it for years, the kids who feel like diabetes actually makes them special. But even these kids have rough patches when they don't want to do the job anymore, when they feel like they don't want to really be “out” with their diabetes.That's what I'm talking about this week with Megan. Megan's son Henry — now 15, diagnosed at 7 and the oldest of four boys — has had a big shift in his diabetes behaviors. Up till now, he's been really independent with management and Megan has only had to step in to help occasionally or during the night. But she's noticing changes. Examples: She often can't read his numbers when he's at hockey practice — and when she can, he's sometimes playing low without treating. He's sometimes walking out of the door with just some skittles in his pocket — no backup supplies in sight. He's minimizing when she asks about it, saying that he's “got it.” Megan wants to do what any mother of a T1D kid wants to do — get him back on track. And she's very supportive when she talks to him, wondering how she can help. We talk about adding some additional tools to her parenting arsenal: First we look at getting more curious about his experience, understanding better where the shift is coming from and what's making it hard for him to manage more effectively. Megan knows and suspects that some of this comes from shifts he's experiencing in his hockey cohort in particular, but also knows that he's struggling in general. After we talk about her getting curious, we look at the tool of validating, noting that it is so hard for him and so understandable that he's struggling. Meeting him in this place is a powerful way for him to feel better understood and heard. Ultimately, it's a way to keep communicating her care and concern, without creating conflict around diabetes. We also looked at parenting choices she might make: She might create some containment around diabetes management by involving her son's coach, but I note that getting that kind of outside intervention with a teenager has a lot to do with the needs and sense of independence of the kid: If a child will feel like they are being well supported when a parent makes that move, it's a perfect choice. But sometimes our teens need to try to course correct on their own. As parents, it's a delicate balance to figure it out. Enjoy the show!

The oh-so-frequently forgotten siblings of our T1D kids! In this week's podcast episode, a concerned mom and dad come on together to think through what's been happening with their 6-year old, in the aftermath of their 3 year-old's relatively recent diagnosis. The picture here is a bit complicated: At first, this older brother was accepting and helpful, in the same way that older siblings often are when a new baby arrives in the house. But as time went on — and the older brother recognized that diabetes was in the house to stay — his behavior shifted. He now avoids items touched by his younger sibling, expresses some fears of contamination and is pretty rejecting of his younger brother.What's a parent to do? We take a pretty deep dive, trying to untangle all the possibilities of what this 6 year-old's behavior means, what he's trying to express, and how to effectively address it. First and foremost, I talk with these parents about validating their son's experience. After all, when diabetes comes to a family, siblings are often sidelined. Acknowledging that to a kid can be really calming for them, allowing them to feel seen and understood, even when they aren't getting the attention that they used to get — and that they still deserve. Mom shares a moment when she did a beautiful job validating their son's experience — and got such a strongly positive response from her boy. I encourage them to do this more, more, more, reminding them that their son's feelings have been building for a while and will take a while to unravel. We explore other possibilities as well: one-on-one time with this older sib; setting clear limits on inappropriate behaviors, with clear consequences; and finding good books that talk about the ways that little siblings can be hard to adjust to for their older brothers and sisters. And while I talked to them about the ways that some of this sibling conflict might be completely normal, I also encouraged these parents to keep a close eye: This older brother has such a strong concept of his younger brother being “contaminated,” that if that continues over time, I think they should consult with their pediatrician to see if they should have their son assessed for OCD. While so many of these kinds of behaviors are normal as our kids grow and change — especially in the face of a trauma like a type 1 diagnosis — I don't want this family to let a problem fester, if they ultimately need more support for their son.Hope you enjoy the show!

If you're looking at the data on diabetes management based on age, you see a big camel's hump in the graph when you get to the teen and early 20s. At these ages, kids just don't do as well with managing their T1D — and it shows in a1C outcomes. The average a1C in this age range pops up to the mid 8s. But even though that may be normal, it certainly doesn't mean that we parents feel comfortable with it. Cue my conversation for this week's episode with Jo, mom of a 14-year old who was diagnosed about a year ago. After talking about the oh-so-familiar challenges that Jo and her son have struggled with in this first year since diagnosis, we started unpacking how her son's lack of lunchtime dosing isn't just “reckless.” In reality, it makes a lot of sense. For this 14-year old, as for many of our kids, giving insulin is more about the social discomfort and emotional weight that comes with managing a chronic illness in front of peers. Consider it this way: at 14, fitting in and feeling normal is almost everything. Giving that shot — and maybe even punching numbers into that pump — can feel like a glaring spotlight on differences. Thinking about it like this allowed Jo to see her son's behavior not as reckless, but as a very human response to the pressures of teenage life with diabetes. With that as a backdrop, I encouraged Jo to shift her focus from frustration to acknowledgment of her son's successes. Despite the struggles, he's managing a lot more than she sometimes gives him credit for — bottom line is that he's dosing whenever he's not with friends, a big win. I also invited Jo to explore this issue with her son through open and non-judgmental conversations. Ultimately, while we should never unbuckle the “diabetes seatbelt” and it's important to try to keep numbers in range, it's equally important to create a safe space for our kids to express their feelings and to find ways to manage diabetes that align with their need for normalcy and independence.Hope you enjoy the show!

I loved the conversation I had for today's podcast episode. It touched on a topic that no one has ever asked me about, even though I know it affects many of us: the difficult balance of managing work responsibilities while caring for a child diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.I'm talking with Nikki, a mother from the UK whose 6-year old daughter was diagnosed with T1D about a year a half ago. As Nikki learned more and more about diabetes after her daughter's diagnosis, she started to recognize that she needed to make significant adjustments to her work life in order to truly meet her daughter's needs. The lack of support and understanding from her employers compounded her feelings of guilt, overwhelm, and depression. Ultimately, Nikki made the tough decision to step back from her job, allowing her to provide the dedicated care her daughter required.Nikki's work/life balance ultimately has a happy ending—she started her own business where she works less and earns more. But it prompted her to think about the kinds of support that T1D parents need: Her journey heightened her awareness of the precarious nature of balancing professional obligations with the demands of caregiving.In many ways, Nikki's story is not unique; many parents face similar struggles as they take on the often crushing burden of managing their child's T1D — and many parents adjust their work schedules to accommodate these needs. But it's a lonely and hard decision, so I was grateful to Nikki for coming forward to explicitly name how challenging it can be. We have a brief, but wide-ranging conversation. Listen to hear more about*My thoughts about how some of the work/life balance parents need help with is actually a political issue*Some clear ideas about mourning and challenges parents face when their child is first diagnosed.*Starting to create some community around T1DHope you enjoy the show!

In this week's episode, I have a conversation with Mary, mother of a newly diagnosed little boy: Campbell was diagnosed about 6 months ago at two and a half. Mary and her husband are getting the hang of diabetes but it's been such a big learning curve that they're thinking of postponing sending Campbell to preschool in the fall: Mary just can't picture how a school transition would go. The thought of entrusting her son's care to someone else is understandably daunting. As we talk, we realize together that Mary's also hesitant to send Campbell because she's not sure how to ask the school for the help that her family needs to manage type 1. Ultimately, she doesn't want to burden others with the complexities of managing his diabetes and learning the ins-and-outs of the disease. Together, we delve into her worries and explore the emotional landscape of becoming a T1D advocate for our kids. We discuss the vital importance of self-advocacy, not just to ensure that our kids receive the best possible care and support, but also because it's critical for us to model for them how they can ask for the help they need — today and in their future. We also look at how this kind of advocacy helps create a safety net for our kids. I share several strategies to help Mary feel more comfortable both advocating and leaving her son at preschool: We talk about the small steps she can take to practice, mostly by starting to advocate with family members, creating a step-by-step map for starting to leave Campbell with those people who already love him. We also look at ways to think about advocating at the school by her first getting super clear about what kind of support she wants Campbell to have. Listen to hear more about:the reasons you might consider transitioning to a pump, even when shots are workingthe mistakes school care providers might make in management — and how to think about thatan upcoming workshop that will help you build a better relationship with your child's care team at school

In today's episode, I talk with Tiffany, a mother whose 9-year-old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes only a few months ago. Tiffany opened with her primary concern: the limitations her daughter might face in the future. Even though she couldn't picture exactly what those limitations would be she fears diabetes will hold her daughter back. Tiffany's worries are a mirror of what so many T1D parents feel—we worry about the hurdles our kids are going to face. It's easy to get caught up in the “what ifs” and overlook the “right nows.” So I brought Tiffany into the present, looking at the ways her daughter might have felt limited since her diagnosis and how Tiffany can respond to that. Validation became the keyword of the discussion. I emphasized the importance of acknowledging the frustrations and limitations her daughter is currently facing — in the example Tiffany gave, it was about sitting out from PE, something we're all familiar with. I work through a powerful validation tool with Tiffany that she'll be able to use again and again as she parents diabetes, one that will keep her closer to her daughter's experience, with the hope that that will help her daughter make a smoother adjustment to a life with type 1. It's not foolproof, but it's a way for our kids to understand that we're alongside them. Listen to hear more about:The nitty gritty of how to construct a strong validation of our kid's experienceThoughts on how to stay close to our kids as they grow their diabetes responsibilities so we're attuned to what they actually can manage.A discussion on the thin line between fostering independence and the risk of “diabetes burnout.”How powerful it is for a parent to be together with their child on their diabetes journey Hope you enjoy!

In today's latest episode, I answer a listener question that will resonate with most parents of T1D kids: the emotional and practical considerations of testing siblings for diabetes markers.The decision to test siblings for diabetes markers is one that many families, including my own, approach with trepidation. The anxiety surrounding this decision is understandable. No parent wants to even begin to imagine another child facing the same challenges as their type 1. And so the question becomes: to test or not to test? Do I want to know? Should I want to know? Does knowing help? Or will I just feel more overwhelmed?The discussion strikes a balance between the idea that knowing if a diagnosis is coming can be powerful — we can plan, and prepare, and possibly even help delay onset with new drugs like tZield. But we also need to be gentle with ourselves, choosing testing only when we feel ready to tolerate what the testing uncovers. I also tackle how we might have to protect our children from the enormity of that information, holding it lightly for their sakes, even as we prepare for the worst. Of course, this decision remains a deeply personal one for each family. In this episode, I provide information, empathy, and understanding to help parents make the best choice for their children and their family's overall well-being. Hopefully, listening will offer some perspective that will help ease the your burden of deciding.

Today's show touches on a topic that's close to many of our hearts—preparing our little ones for big life transitions. But as you know, when you're the parent of a kiddo with type 1 diabetes, those transitions take on a whole new layer of planning and care.In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Rachel, a proactive mom who's thinking months ahead about her son's upcoming leap into kindergarten — and also about his horizon beyond. As we delve into our conversation, we talk about ways that Rachel can best navigate the school system for her T1D son. I suggest she connect with other T1D families in her school so she can get a sense the inside scoop on how diabetes management works there. We talk about ways to partner with her son's school care team to build a strong relationship with them (and I also give a nod to my upcoming workshop “Beyond the 504” where I teach about how to do just that). I also make suggestions of how she can bulletproof her son's 504 plan, in order to maintain more parental decision-making authority.Rachel is thinking even further ahead: She's wondering about the challenge of transferring the responsibility of diabetes management to her child over the long run. It's a dance between fostering independence and being there to catch them when they fall. And trust me, we all have stories about that part of the journey—like the one I share about my daughter's path to managing her diabetes.Here's a sneak peek of other highlights from our conversation:Why advocating for your child requires a balance of assertiveness and relationship-building.Cultural insights into how women are often taught to communicate, and the challenges we face around advocacy because of that.Personal anecdotes that highlight the emotional aspect of slowly passing the baton of diabetes care to our kids.The invaluable role of environments like diabetes camps in fostering self-care and independence.I hope you join me for this powerful episode, where we celebrate the courage and dedication of parents like Rachel, who are laying the groundwork for their children to thrive in school and in life, despite the challenges of T1D.Remember, sweet friends, our journey is sweeter when we walk it together. Keep talking, keep loving, and keep advocating for those sweet ones in our lives.Mentioned in this episode:Wanting to create the best relationship with your child's school care team? Register for Beyond the 504. In this workshop, I'll walk you through evidence-based tools to approach your child's school so you can can have the tough conversations you need to have about diabetes management and keeping your child safe at school. Find out more at www.diabetessweettalk.com/workshop

In today's episode, I'm joined by Sveltana, a mother who's navigating the bumps of diabetes management with her 9-year-old snowboarder and athlete. While we do spend some time strategizing management and I talk to this mom about questions she could put to her endo, we're actually having an important conversation about the values that she might be choosing to center in a life with diabetes. When we T1D parents talk about managing diabetes, it's a delicate dance between maintaining tight control and giving our kids the freedom to just be kids. For Sveltana and her son, sports are a passion. But as she's learned, sometimes that means the numbers can take a backseat.What we recognize in this episode is that diabetes management is deeply personal. As Sveltana and I discussed, it's really about values clarification. What do we want to center in a life with diabetes? For Sveltana, it's her son's happiness and normalcy, even if it sometimes means the numbers aren't picture perfect.I also talked with Sveltana the importance of giving herself some grace as she figures out how to manage sports and numbers together. Her family is relatively new to this journey, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to diabetes. Being out of range but allowing her son the space to play the sports he loves could be a win for them. And she might need to adjust some of her expectations as they continue to learn and grow in managing diabetes. Listen to hear more about Resources for personalized diabetes care, especially for those balancing sports and activity.Potentially important questions to ask the endo, like about mini gluc, ketone checking and additional basal profiles. Thinking about getting more support — It's vital to feel free to reach out for this, especially if you're seeing patterns that you're not sure how to manage, or that feel scary.Family Camp! Still can't say enough how valuable this can be to everyone in the household. Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

I feel so lucky to have been part of the conversation that makes up this week's episode. My guest is Stacey Simms, herself a big name in the diabetes world, and the host of the Diabetes Connections podcast. At one of her Mom's Night Out events, she had told me that she had a question about her T1D son's transition to college — and here she is to talk about it. Stacey starts by naming a few different areas where she's struggling as her son transitions to college and she transitions to his independence. The first is simply about him leaving and the ways that she worries about his diabetes management, especially since they had made an agreement that she would no longer be on Dexcom share once he left for college. She also notices her reactions to his management style when he is back at home and wonders how the conversation about diabetes should look now that he's a young adult. And as the topper: This super experienced T1D mom questions whether she did a good enough job teaching her son about diabetes. This is a robust conversation about the ongoing challenges of parenting our T1D kids, even as they become young adults.Listen to hear more about:*The ways we sometimes compare our child's diabetes “performance” to that of other kids*The challenges we feel about our own adequacy when our kids aren't doing as well at management*The balance of our feelings of awe and respect for what our children carry and our critical feelings towards our kids for the things they forget or don't get right with management.*What it means to be “impressed” by what our kids are managing and how to communicate that authentically while still giving them space to fail with diabetes.*How to talk to our young adult kids about their management*Remembering that our kids might still need and want our help with diabetes — and how to ask them about that*The ways that it feels like the worry about T1D never stopsMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

On today's show, I welcome back Kaylor Glassman, founder of Diabetes Support Partners, to talk through a question from a listener.The question has to do with an 11 year old, who the parent feels isn't being as responsible about diabetes management as mom thinks she should be. Mom is concerned that this kiddo isn't tracking the insulin in her pump, is allowing her pump to run out of charge, and is always surprised when the CGM expires. The parent is wondering how to get better cooperation from her child.But Kaylor and I question whether this is the right approach and whether these are reasonable expectations for this child. We look at how the anxiety of the parent could be pushing this kid to do more than, perhaps, she's capable of. And with that in mind, we look at how to foster a conversation with our children about what they think they are capable of, with the idea that we're transferring diabetes responsibility step by step.Listen to hear more about:*The difference between whether a child can do a task and whether they are actually ready to do that task*Ways to foster a positive connection around these tasks through conversation*Thinking about developmental readiness in transferring T1D responsibilities*Following the child who's in front of us and allowing them to lead in terms of what management tasks they are ready for*Keeping connected about diabetes, even in the teen yearsMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Today's mom has a wish to go away with her husband for a weekend — and leave her T1D son behind. The grandparents have offered to take him for that weekend — they are more than happy to help — but mom is nervous, worried not just about her son's numbers, but also about how asking for what she needs might impact her relationship with her in-laws.As we explore, we uncover that this mom has what I call “a beautiful fantasy,” that she gets to go away and have an actual vacation from diabetes, where she doesn't have to think about it for the weekend. Together, we think about what the steps might be to work up to that, so she can make that dream possible.Listen to hear about:*How to help grandparents build the diabetes care muscle, step by step*How parents should quiet their fears about overwhelming caregivers*Having different expectations about management when our kids are in other people's care, especially when it's for short periods of time. *How to help support your child if they have some diabetes anxiety about being left in someone else's care

This week's guest is a mom of a relatively newly diagnosed 10-year old girl. Mom describes her daughter Maisie as having always struggled with some anxiety — but now that diabetes is in the mix, Maisie's anxiety is higher and more dramatic — and mom is at her wit's end.Together, this mom and I dig into what she's seeing with her daughter and come up with a few different strategies to help calm her very anxious daughter. First, is to take as much responsibility for diabetes off of her daughter as is possible. I name that many parents are anxious about how their kids are going to be able to do diabetes on their own one day — but that for Maisie, the focus needs to be on lowering her anxiety now, before she takes on too much responsibility. It's going to be important for tis mom to know that Maisie will be able to take this responsibility on later, but that now -- at 10 -- she should do less, not more. We also look at some of the realities of diabetes complications and how mom's worry about this has been part of the mix. I was able to reassure her that dire complications of diabetes are lower than people expect — which was especially important for her to hear since she works as a nurse and had seen some ugly complications with type 2 diabetes. We talk about how mom can work with Maisie to lower her anxiety in a given moment when she's distressed. Some of this is about strategizing with Maisie about what she might need in those moments. But some of it is about mom and dad really being in charge so that Maisie feels better contained — and less bad about herself. Finally, we explore what it would be for this family to get some therapeutic support, the ways that Maisie is resistant to that, and the ways that mom might be able to help support that process.

Thanks for listening to Sweet Talk all year long! I'm closing 2023 with a recap of some of my top recommended episodes to tune into this holiday season. These episodes will serve you as you brace challenges with food, family, and friends during this season. 57: What To Do When People Have No Idea What Your Life is Like37: When Family Doesn't Understand What It's Like for You to Parent Type 136: When Feeding Your T1D Kid Causes Conflict in Your Relationship 14: Strategies for Managing the Holiday Stress with T1DHave any questions you'd like to get support on? I encourage you to contact me if you want to come on the show. I'm always here to answer your questions on your parenting T1D kids. Feel free to email me at joanne@diabetessweettalk.comHappy New Year!

The mom who joins me this week — Michelle — doesn't have a specific question; instead, she wants to face off with the broad challenge of how lonely it can be to have diabetes, both for her and her T1D daughter. Ultimately, she's bothered by the ways other people misunderstand what her daughter lives and struggles with. She's frustrated that people think her daughter has type 2, that they think she can't eat certain things, and that they somehow think that the cause of diabetes is that her daughter ate unhealthy food. She's irritated that people don't understand the ongoing, chronic nature of the care that's required with type 1. And she wants to figure out if there's a way to protect her daughter from the barrage of questions and misunderstandings that come her way. Although Michelle and I agree that it's painful and stressful when our experience of living with and taking care of diabetes is so invisible and misunderstood, we also look to the strength that comes from choosing to be an educator and an advocate in our lives. I make some suggestions of the kinds of things that Michelle (or her daughter) could say when the comments come, while also acknowledging that sometimes we don't have the bandwidth to respond so generously to people's comments. As an antidote to other people's ignorance, I suggest — as always — the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who do understand our experience. Michelle shifts to talk more about her daughter's struggles, and how all the questions people ask push her to hate her diabetes. We look together at ways Michelle can brainstorm with her daughter about what to say when these interactions happen, while also encouraging mom to acknowledge how genuinely hard this is for her daughter. And Michelle names all the ways that she's trying to create more structure in her daughter's school for a better understanding of type 1. Tune in for this broad-ranging conversation that helps us think about what it's really like to live with T1D, even years after diagnosis.

On today's show, a mom joins me to talk about her nervousness about having a new driver — and to think through any issues that she should be on the lookout for because of diabetes. Mom is understandably anxious about her daughter starting to drive, but can also see that her daughter is pretty responsible about diabetes management. That said, we looked at the reality of how (the California) DMV requires disclosure of diabetes and how mom might help navigate that process smoothly by getting a letter from her child's endocrinologist. We look together at what habits mom will help her daughter put into place to be sure she's driving at a safe blood sugar — and about having a conversation with the doctor about how to think about what that number is. We also explore mom's concerns about her daughter feeling different as a new driver with diabetes and how the two of them could talk about that. I make some suggestions about how this mom could think creatively about her daughter's relationship to her diabetes once friends are in the car, instead of feeling worried that she'll feel like the odd duck because of her T1D.

This remarkable grandmother came onto the show to get some support for her newly diagnosed grandson. In the last few months, this 12-year-old boy — who was adopted by this family through the foster-care system — has been living with grandma. She's observed that the higher his blood sugar, the more volatile his moods are. She notes that it's hard to figure out how to keep him in range to help keep him emotionally steady. Together we look at different ways this child — and his family — can get the support they need. I talk about a form of therapy that might be helpful for them called PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy). I also look at how I might have a slightly different message about food and eating in this situation. Normally, I strongly support the idea that any type 1 child should be able to eat normally — and that we as parents should just cover with insulin. In this case, I suggest some diet modifications so they can keep him in range until they figure out more about dosing — all in the name of keeping his moods more stable. We also look at different ways to talk to him and think about his highs. Grandma talks about strategies that she has been using with him when he's been high — mostly thinking with him about why his blood sugars are out of range. I suggest that it might be helpful to direct the energy he has when he's high to physical activity. That could help stabilize his mood and might also help him get back into range. I also talk to grandma about how to have her help her grandson recognize how he feels when he's out of range so he can work to stabilize himself, both emotionally and in terms of blood sugars, all with a lot of validation about how hard the job is.

This week, I'm honored to have Kaylor Glassman back on the show. As a reminder, I know Kaylor from DYF, the organization that runs camp in my neck of the woods in Northern California. She used to work there as the Director of Programs. Now, she's started her own business called Diabetes Support Partners, which provides support to people in the first year after a T1D diagnosis. Together, Kaylor and I are tackling a question that's written in by a mom whose 10-year-old T1D son is trying to use his diabetes to get out of school. We explore all the possibilities of what might be happening for him, including the chance of celiac disease or other medical conditions that might be causing the feelings of nausea he's complaining about. We also look at the possibility that this poor kiddo is struggling with some kind of anxiety that's keeping him from wanting to go to school. Maybe he's anxious about his out-of-range numbers? Or maybe he's just anxious about going to school? Or perhaps something is happening at home that's making him want to stay put? Or maybe diabetes at school feels too hard for him? Essentially, we're looking at how this mom will need to be a bit of a detective to figure out what is going on for her son since there could be a huge range of different issues that are causing him to want to avoid going to school. We also explore the challenge that this mom feels about holding the line and sending her son to school, even though he's saying he doesn't want to go. I talk about how the balance of parenting is about loving our children while making it clear where the limits are, even when it's hard to do that, as it is for this mom. Hope you enjoy the show!

As T1D parents, most — if not all — of us grapple with some pretty significant anxiety about keeping our kids safe. The parent on the show this week shares with us about how she's fighting with that anxiety in the quest to get things right with diabetes. Frankly, the parent has one of the hardest diabetes scenarios: Her daughter, now four, was diagnosed at 13 months. It's extra scary to have a diagnosis with such a young child and, in my experience, parents who have those very early diagnoses, often carry their anxiety forward as their children continue to grow. This parent confirms that her worry continues and that she often can't tell if she's facing a “normal” parenting moment because — for her — it's so complicated by diabetes. She acknowledges that her worry is always “yelling at her,” telling her that she has to pay better attention. I notice that despite all this parent's concrete questions, she's really taken up with the worry about getting everything exactly right. We spend some time talking about how to think about doing diabetes to live your life, rather than living your life for diabetes. I note how important it is to be flexible — sure, with diabetes, but also in how we think about things so we can create as much normalcy as possible in our lives. And this parent talks about how hard this is for her since she feels like she's not getting diabetes right enough. While we detour into some diabetes data, we also take a look at how this mom's anxiety and guilt get in the way. It's a brave and courageous conversation that finishes with some practical thoughts about how to parent when diabetes is in the mix. Listen to hear more about:Why high blood sugars aren't as much of a concern for children before pubertyRisk factors with diabetes and how the landscape of severe medical risk has shiftedHow to think about ordering parent choices and when you might step back from making diabetes the first priorityMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This week a mom came on the show to talk about her son who was diagnosed a little less than a month ago — but, amazingly, she didn't have a question about him! Instead, she wanted to think about her 5-year-old non-T1D daughter who had come to her, saying that she feels “left out” of the family since the diagnosis. I am so impressed that this mom not only had the bandwidth to think about her daughter's needs but also to come onto the show. I know that when my son was a month from diagnosis, I was still reeling. We talk together about how this mom has already started to address her daughter's feeling of being an outsider: She and her husband are working to spend a little extra one-on-one time each day with her. Mom also got the wonderful idea from another T1D parent to create a little surprise grab bag for her daughter. That way, in small moments when the attention is turned to diabetes, there's a little something extra for this non-T1D sibling, too. I have some suggestions in the episode about ways mom can talk to her daughter, both to validate her experience as well as to strengthen this little girl's already amazing skill of self-advocacy. We also look at the difference between “feeling left out” and being ignored or side-lined and think about how this girl can be appropriately integrated into diabetes care. Finally, we talk about how sometimes we just can't meet everyone's needs and we have to ask our non-T1D sibs to wait as we adjust to or focus on diabetes. Listen to hear more about:How to tend to kids who are jealous of their type 1 sibling and thoughts about how to level the playing fieldMaking sure that food isn't restricted for siblings, as you're trying to figure out dosing for your T1D childThinking about “consent” when getting diabetes help from your non-T1D siblingMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This week, a mom joins me in a wide-ranging conversation about the way her son can get sassy — and be difficult to parent — when his blood sugar is high. But before we ever got to that issue, we hit on a few other important topics.First of all, this brave mom talked about how dysregulated she gets when she is following diabetes all, all, all the time. She shared that she's made a practice of dis-connecting herself sometimes from the task of managing. Since this kind of self-care is an important message that I give in all my Sweet Talk programming, we spent a little time here, looking at how this practice evolved for her. She shared how the reflections of close and loving family members really helped her to see the ways that she was stretching herself too far and that she needed to find a way to take self-care breaks. Then, in thinking with her about how to address the high blood sugars that are making her son so hard to parent, we took a detour to talk about disordered eating behaviors and the risk of that with T1D. It was a great opportunity to share with listeners that my next free workshop — the ever-popular Let Them Eat Cake? — focuses on this issue and is now open for registration. Finally, we started tackling the real issue of parenting highs, talking through how you might start a conversation about this to raise your child's awareness of what is happening in their body. I name that this is a bit of a process — not something a parent can magically expect their child to be able to do right away, but something you can help them cultivate over time. We are planting seeds in their awareness.Listen to hear more about:How to think about moderate eating and teaching that to our kidsThe difficulty that some people with type 1 have in feeling fullHow to help your child pay better attention to when they feel full and creating thoughtful behaviors related to food and eatingHow to help your child gain some self-awareness about their behaviors without making them feel bad about themselves. How it can be helpful to talk to our children about hard topics in moments when their blood sugar is in range — and when we (and they) are calm and regulated How asking our kids to pay attention can help them gain insightMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This week, I'm talking to a mom with an all-too-familiar problem: Her teenager, diagnosed for years now and a conscientious diabetes manager until recently, has basically given up on bolusing. Mom is at her wit's end, trying to figure out how to help her daughter pick this habit back up. She's tried lots of strategies: motivational talk, discussion of best health practices, and even threats. None of it seems to be working. And mom just feels like a constant (and exhausted) nag. Together we try to reconceptualize the issue: Instead of it being that her daughter is being rebellious, we think about how something has clearly changed for this teen. We look at different ways to approach the conversation with this girl so she is more likely to take up her own care. One suggestion has to do with getting curious about her experience: What happens when mom reminds her to dose? What makes it hard to dose at school? What are her reactions that are getting in the way of adequate diabetes management? The other idea we played with has to do with mom brainstorming with her daughter to set some guidelines around management and then letting her try to fly on her own — without mom's involvement. Importantly, we also discuss how diabetes has become such a point of contention in their relationship. And we look at how and why it's critical to create some shift, since our kids really need us alongside them with their T1D challenges.Listen to hear more about:Ways getting curious can be helpful and how to do thatWhy questions that start with “why” are almost never usefulThinking about how and what to negotiate with a non-compliant teen, including how to make agreements so you can step back from some management tasksReprioritizing the relationship so mom and daughter can keep the conversation about diabetes in the mixHow to even start this difficult conversationMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This week, I talked with a mom whose T1D son recently left for college. It's clear that mom trusts her son – and that they have a good relationship – but she's also nervous about him being on his own. A lovely priority for her is to make sure that he knows that she's there for him. We discuss how important it is for her to take a step back and make room for his voice. The operating question in this episode: What does he want from her? Some highlights:Thinking about growing your T1D young adult's muscle for speaking up for what they want and need from you.Learning how to step back little by littleTalking with your child about how they might want to handle diabetes challenges – while also making room for yourself and your own anxietyNoticing when you don't need to be involved anymore and finding a way to step backLearning to notice where your children are competent and thinking about the message that is conveyed to them. What healthy future planning looks like, particularly tuning into our concerns and balancing their wants for independenceHow to practice the communication skills that show your support and help them to learn to ask for what they needMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

For today's episode, a mom came on to share how her 9-year-old son has become increasingly and newly worried anytime his CGM shows a high reading. We were able to trace this new anxiety to one particularly traumatic experience when he was over 400 for several hours and his parents (and grandparents) weren't sure why he was high and were pretty anxious themselves. Together, mom and I understood that this kiddo probably picked up on the high energy of that one day which put him in an elevated state of alarm when he's heading up. Through our conversation, we explored ways to help him lower his worry and ways to talk to him about it. Listen to the episode to hear more about:Making a protocol for when there's a high so everyone knows what to do and we reduce the crisis responseOffering tools to slow down anxiety, primarily through modeling and talking about the challengesTimes and ways to validate our children's experience, even as we want them to shift their perspectiveTalking through what might happen – including the idea of going to the hospital – to demystify a child's fear of what that might meanOwning up to the ways that our reactions as adults might have impacted our kids. Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

I'm so lucky this week to have Kaylor Glassman on the show. I know Kaylor through DYF, the organization that runs a diabetes camp in Northern California; she used to be the program director there. Now she has a business called Diabetes Support Partners, which is specifically designed to help families with a newly diagnosed child. The question we're tackling is about T1D siblings and about how much diabetes support we parents can ask of them. The parent writing in has a newly diagnosed 6 year old and wants help with diabetes management from her 15-year-old daughter. Is okay to ask for that support? Kaylor and I look at some of the ways that it's challenging for siblings, especially in the first year after diagnosis. We talk about how siblings' feelings and needs often are overlooked and what a parent's responsibility is to notice and take care of that non-T1D child, even as they are challenged by the very steep learning curve of type 1.We also talk about:How to think about the care the sibling is providing — is it a regular gig or an occasional ask that's part of the normal help that family members provide each other? And if it's a regular “job,” we talk about the advantages of paying a teen child for that helpWays to pay attention to a sibling's experience and what the developmental needs are for a 15-year-old childHow to balance a sibling's needs while taking care of our T1D child in this first yearThe value of regular check-ins so the sibling's needs are addressedGetting both practical and emotional support through connections in the diabetes communityHelping a teen babysitter problem solve T1D issues that might come upCircumstances where you might not want to leave a sibling in chargeMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

What a dilemma! To stay or to go? In this episode, I talked to a lovely mother who is debating whether she should move to live near her family who she knows can and will support her and her newly diagnosed daughter. The sticking point is that she also loves her job, feeling like she won the “career lottery” – and she isn't sure she wants to give that up. Since her daughter is still in the first year after diagnosis, she came onto the podcast to better understand what will change with her relationship with diabetes. Will it get easier? And in what ways? Ultimately, she wants to know if diabetes will ever feel easy enough that she doesn't need to make the move. But she also names how much she wants people to lean on who care about her daughter enough to learn about managing diabetes. Along the way in this rich conversation, we explore the loneliness she feels and her understandable need to have people in her life who can support her more with the day-to-day of diabetes.Listen to hear more about:The ways that things change with diabetes after the first yearThe loneliness and sense of isolation when living with diabetesThe challenges of building a diabetes communityHow people turn inward after diagnosis and how to shift that over time to build connectionThe profound sense of relief you can have when a connection does happen around T1DMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This week, I had a wonderful conversation with my old T1D mom friend, Tamar. Tamar and I met at camp a million years ago and our children were diagnosed on the same day! She's a veteran, so you'll hear a robust conversation about the question. A parent wrote in, saying that her son wants to eat “normally.” Together, Tamar and I think about both how that's possible — and why it's vital to meet that need as best as the parent can (while still, of course, trying to keep blood sugars in range). We discuss what anxiety might come up as a parent is trying to strike that balance, and how we parents sometimes may have difficulty containing that anxiety with our kids. Listen to hear us talk about:How restricting food can be subtle: It's not just saying your child can't eat a particular food but also by continually offering them the foods you know how to dose for easilyHow important it is to focus on emotional well-being, not just on blood sugars How you can think about and hold the idea of the potential “consequences” of diabetes with your kidsWhy it's better to stay “in the now” with diabetes management and not worry about what's going to happen in the futureHow to find flexibility with management, and how to accommodate and adjust when things go off the rails How to avoid becoming the “diabetes police” while still monitoring diabetes and keeping numbers in rangeHow to validate your child's experience with diabetesMentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

What a complex issue! This week, a mom came on the show, talking about how her somewhat-newly diagnosed 7-year-old has been pulling off her pump. Mom has been working hard to stay calm in the face of all these pump “failures” but really wants to get at the root of the problem, so her daughter stops derailing her own treatment. She's thinking about the kinds of consequences she might need to dole out around treatment options because — understandably! — She's worried and wants this to stop.With this mom, instead of thinking about consequences, we redirect to thinking about what her daughter might be trying to communicate with this pump-pulling-off behavior. Although we can't know for sure, I'm guessing that her daughter is anxious and is trying to say something about how she feels. Together we explore:How to speak frankly and honestly about the pump discomforts to uncover what's going on deep down for her daughter.How to show empathy to our T1D kids when they are showing anxiety or resistance to their diabetes care.The hard and complicated dance of choice: how to allow the T1D kid independence over their diabetes management, and what is developmentally appropriate. Sometimes, a child may express interest in having more independence even though it could cause adverse effects, so we need to find balanced ways to give kids options while staying within bounds of what everyone (kid, parents and other caregivers included) can handle.Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

I had an interesting conversation this week with a mom of a T1D pre-schooler. Because she's managed to keep dosing pretty invisible and seamless for him thanks to tech, she's worrying that he doesn't understand that he needs insulin to eat. As we explored the issues of how she could introduce the idea to him about this, we also were able to better understand her very normal worries about what's to come with diabetes. She shared how diabetes made her feel less confident as a parent and the ways she worries about what the next steps are and how to prepare herself and her son for them.We explore:How to share language around diabetes and food with a young child (including information about the free Sweet Talk Snack Course that can help you with these issues)How to practice with new foods that feel scary to dose forHow to respond when you see those high blood sugarsHow to gradually introduce the idea of giving insulin in relation to food while taking into account what's developmentally appropriate including the child's ability to control impulsesHow to practice staying neutral when glucose levels are high and the importance of modeling this when numbers are out of rangeHow to think about healthy food limits and introducing “trickier” foodsWhat it's like to be thinking through “the next big step” with diabetesTalking about dosing like it's a science experimentHow we can appropriately and responsively respond to our T1D kidsFor more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Sure, we want our kids to like their low supplies — after all, they sometimes need to eat them when they don't want to eat a thing. But we don't want them to like them so much that they eat them for fun. That would equal a blood sugar disaster. In this episode, T1D mom Julie comes to talk about just that: Her four-year-old was high for several days in a row and she had no idea why until he showed her the wrappers for his low supplies that he had stashed under his hamper. We discussed:What to do when you feel like your child is lying or hiding, but then sharesHow your child might be struggling with control and how to strategically return some control, particularly over food choicesHow to talk to a child who has been eating their low supplies and how to understand their needsJoin me on Friday, Aug. 18 at 9 am PST / 12 pm EST for, “Beyond the 504,” a free Zoom workshop. We will discuss the toolkit you need to build a successful partnership with your T1D kid's school. Sign up today!Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Diabetes anniversaries! If you go onto Facebook, you'll see a lot of photos of kids with cakes celebrating this milestone. But not everyone wants to take that on. In fact, some people just feel like diabetes is a bummer, and not something they want to celebrate in any way. In this episode, fellow T1D mom Annie and I discuss a question from a listener who wrote asking whether she should have a dia-anniversary celebration for her daughter's first year with T1D. It was clear that she was hesitant to celebrate. Listen to hear more about:The difference between a celebration and a “marking” of a child's diabetes anniversaryCreative ideas to make your own ritual or explore different kinds of “celebrations” beyond cakeHow the date-of-diagnosis anniversary could be a time to reflect on the past year and its successes, especially noticing the good work your child has done to stay healthyBeing sensitive to the developmental needs of your children when it comes to dia-anniversaries Join me on Friday, Aug. 18 at 9 am PST / 12 pm EST for, “Beyond the 504,” a free Zoom workshop. We will discuss the toolkit you need to build a successful partnership with your T1D kid's school. Sign up today!Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

With diabetes, there's the independence dance: Sometimes our kids want to learn and grow into new tasks and responsibilities with their own self-care — and sometimes they'd rather hand it back to us. What makes this particularly hard is the chatter in our own heads. We parents worry when our kids take a step backward, thinking that we need to hold the line to ensure that our kids move only forward in their diabetes care.In this week's episode, I talk through this issue with Samantha, a mom who also happens to be a pediatric nurse. In her day job, she is confident in helping kids through their shots. What she found, though, is that as a mom of a newly diagnosed T1D kid, there were more challenges than she had imagined. Her daughter wanted to give shots herself but then got really fearful about how the shots hurt. The result was that each long-acting insulin shot became a 45-minute event. Unsure of what to do, Samantha wondered whether she should take back the responsibility for giving shots or insist that her daughter give them because she knows she can. Samantha and I talk about where that line around independence is when it comes to diabetes care. We also discuss the worries and dynamics that come up around a T1D kid's food choices – especially when they are trying to minimize their shots.Join us to also hear about:How to follow your child's lead in terms of taking on next steps in diabetes management and careWhat to consider when our kids don't want a pump or diabetes technology but when we think it might be bestWhy the risk for eating disorders is higher in people with type 1 and how to set up your child for success in their relationship to foodSupporting good food choices with a child who wants to eat fewer carbs to avoid a shotDifferent ideas for rituals that might help kids with getting shotsFor more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

We all remember what it was like when our T1D child was first diagnosed: The shock and sadness — and the steep, steep learning curve to trying to get diabetes “right.” As we watched each reading and each bite of food, we worried about being away from our child, and we wanted that CGM as quickly as possible. In this episode, the mom of a newly diagnosed 8-year-old girl comes to talk about the dilemma she's having about sending her daughter to an art camp — without a CGM. Of course, she's anxious. Who wouldn't be? But she's also sad about the idea of her daughter not going, her daughter's disappointment, and her feeling of life not being normal.We explore:Whether mom can commit to being at the camp for most of the day, rather than just keeping her daughter home with her. While we know that can be a big burden on mom, it might help create a bridge to some normalcy. What it would be like to get support from the camp and how mom might ask for that help.How her very shy daughter might react to all the attention that diabetes requires — and what that will be like for her going forward, into school and beyond.Choices that this mom can offer her daughter to make the transition back to camp and school easier, even with T1DFor more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Another listener wrote in with a question about drug use for their T1D kid so I asked Dr. Justin Altschuler, a T1D and addiction doc, back onto the show to provide answers. In this episode, we tackle issues that come up around experimenting with “harder” drugs, like cocaine, hallucinogens, and opiates. Dr. Justin leans into his experience as a substance doctor to explain what he knows about how these substances can affect T1D. A few takeaways:While Dr. Justin discusses the various substance classes and their inherent risks to blood sugar and overall brain function, the main message is that drug use is trickier with T1D. How a specific drug will impact a diabetic teen will be individual. Consider the overall mental health of kids with T1D and the context of their drug use.There's a difference between drug use and drug abuse. While both are risky with T1D, parents and caregivers need to understand that T1D puts teens at higher risk for mental health issues, which also possibly is a link to a higher potential risk of substance abuse.The teenage years are a high-risk period overall and finding coping strategies for mental health challenges can pay off in the long run. For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Getting help and feeling misunderstood: the bane of a T1D parent's existence. But what happens when we feel misunderstood by the people who are supposed to be closest to us, like our own family?Because I've heard these challenges from so many parents, I took this question from a listener who's struggling with family misunderstanding about their child's T1D. It's feeling so bad that they are thinking about walking away from the relationship altogether.Annie and I discuss:The ways it can feel when family isn't understanding our experience as T1D parents. How important it is to recognize if people don't have the capability to meet us in the struggles of a diabetes diagnosis. Ways we might be able to get more support from people by asking for what we need as T1D parents. Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

This episode surprised me — it's the first time I've had a couple come on the show together to help them navigate the stress and challenges that come up because they have a type 1 child. It's like a sneak-peak into a couples therapy session. In Colleen and Wesley's case, their disagreement centers around food and eating. Since we know that diabetes can make for more difficulties in our relationships, this episode is a must-listen for anyone trying to co-parent their T1D child. Some highlights:Wesley has a lot of real-world examples of people with severe complications from type 1. We look at the actual data on those risks so he can feel less anxious about his son's chance for living a long and healthy life.Colleen talks about wanting to cater to their son because she feels sorry that he has to grow up with T1D. We explore the risks of being too permissive and how that can create a lack of safety for kids.We think about planning ahead when it comes to food and eating: When our kids leave home to be on their own, what do we want eating to look like for them? What kinds of food choices are we hoping they will be able to make? Once parents have clarity, how do they take steps to help their kids get there?I recommend all parents check out the work of Ellyn Satter for some helpful insights on feeding dynamics.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

One of the ways so many of us manage our nighttime anxiety after our kids' initial diagnosis is by pulling them into bed with us. We have a magical belief that we will keep them safer if they are right next to us as they sleep. And while that's a reasonable strategy for a time — until we can get our own anxiety and shock under control — it's not an answer for the long term. In this episode, fellow T1D mom Annie and I think through a question from a mom who's been sleeping with her T1D child since diagnosis over a year ago. Some highlights:We talk about how to start to distinguish when we should take our children seriously when they want something different than what we want around diabetes management.What happens to a marriage when our T1D kid takes center stage — and why it's important to get relationships back on track.How we can combat beliefs we have about sleep to make it possible to break bad sleep habits around T1D? Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Parents know that mixing alcohol and type 1 brings extra challenges. Although we've tackled this topic before, Dr. Justin Altschuler is back to answer more listener questions about how to navigate the tricky territory of drinking with T1D. And just as a reminder: Not only does Dr. Justin have a private practice that specializes in addiction and T1D, but he serves as the medical director of Diabetes Youth Families (DYF), the organization in the Bay Area that hosts diabetes camp, and has T1D himself.Some highlights:Dancing is a form of exercise, and when paired with drinking, there can be a huge demand on the body overall. The primary concerns are safety and preventing glucose levels from dropping too low. Preventing lows can be done by reducing insulin while drinking (and through the night afterward) and also eating more carbs before, during, and after dancing. Better to eat the ice cream, and not worry about highs! What happens when a T1D teen is vomiting from drinking? Keeping blood sugars up is the top concern. If someone with type 1 is vomiting or too nauseated to eat or drink, better they should go to the ER to get support than try to manage on their own. For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Sending our T1D kids to school can be hard, but we know we have to find a way — after all, they need to be there and we know that the school needs to help us make that happen. It can feel really different, though, when we need to lean into our community to ask friends to take care of our type 1 kiddos for something like a sleepover. Sure, our kids deserve that social interaction, but how do we muster up the courage to ask for help? In this episode, fellow T1D parent Annie and I think through the challenges of how to make it comfortable for you to send your kid to that sleepover. Some highlights:Before you ask your T1D kid to manage themselves at a sleepover, it's important to consider what's developmentally appropriate for them. Remember that it's so good for our kids — with and without type 1 — to feel like they are part of a broader community and that they can get help and support from more than just us, their parents. After all, we'd like other parents and kids to feel comfortable turning to us in their times of need.Annie and I talk through different ways that we can think about overcoming the discomfort of asking for help from our friends to help manage our type 1 child. The goal is to ask very specifically for what we need to feel safe so when we send our children on that sleepover that we don't feel too anxious when they are there.For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Camp! If you've come to almost any event I've hosted or been part of, you know that I'm a big proponent of diabetes camp. There are so many good reasons for this but the biggest is that our kids benefit from being in a community with other people who also have diabetes. So what to do when you tell your T1D child that you're planning to send them to camp and they — firmly and adamantly — tell you that they don't want to go? In this episode, the caller is a program director at a diabetes camp. She tells me that she fields this question all the time from parents who want their kids to go to camp but who are putting up big resistance. I tackle the question and together we think through different kinds of scenarios and different kinds of kids, looking at ways to get our kids involved and ways to hold appropriate limits. Some highlights:Kids don't know what they don't know!Camp is a privilege: Although many parents grapple with the idea of “forcing" their child to go to camp, it might be helpful to shift thinking to the idea that this is an opportunity for a child, rather than something that parents are making them do. A good strategy can be to offer children choices inside the context of the limit you're setting.Attending a family camp can be an excellent way to get past our kids' resistance. Ultimately, we may be pleasantly surprised about whether camp works or doesn't work for our child.For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

We all know that how we experience our kid's type 1 is very different from how the rest of the world sees us. People on the outside might see us calmly dosing for a meal or picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy. They have no idea that we're up nights, checking the Dexcom through the day, or on the phone with insurance for hours on end. That said, sometimes people on the outside might have concerns about what they see. Is their view accurate? Hard to say. But the question is how to address those concerns if you're someone who wants to help.In this episode, we hear from a concerned aunt who wrote in with a question. She worries about her 12-year-old T1D nephew. From her outside perspective, she doesn't see that her sister is managing his diabetes well enough. With guest and fellow T1D-mom Annie, I talk through both the possibility that this aunt doesn't have the whole picture and the likelihood that the boy's mom lacks support and struggles with mental health.Here are some takeaways: Diabetes is hard, and all families struggle at some point. Getting family support (and offering that support) can make a difference in helping manage what is – ultimately – a family disease. Mothers – or the lead T1D parent – deserve help. Partners, other family members, and even therapists can hugely lift the burden. And, of course, I can't pitch camp enough: Family camp, in particular. Camp is a fantastic way to connect to a community that fully gets what you are experiencing. When eager to support from the outside, show curiosity without judgment or anxiety. It's okay to have some fear but drop criticism at the door. Maybe you have some preconceptions about diabetes – but learn what you need to before bringing up your concerns about someone else's situation. Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

Another mother coming on the show, concerned because she's finding food wrappers and feels like her child is “sneaking food”? Yes! But food and eating is such an important topic that I wanted to let you listen to lots of different ways you can think about and approach the issues if (and when) they come up with your T1D child. In this episode, we meet a mom who has struggled with her own relationship with food and eating and hear about the ways she's tried to create the conditions for her daughter to have a positive connection to food and eating. Instead, this mom reports that her daughter is lying about the (likely and obvious) cause of her high blood sugars, and is pretty avoidant about talking about food with her mom in general. How can this mom right the ship? Listen in to hear all the nuances of how I suggest this mom can create a shift – both in her daughter's relationship with food and eating and their relationship with each other.A few highlights:One big reason kids lie to their parents is that they're feeling worried about creating conflict. The bottom line is that they want to preserve their relationship with their parents. They care about us and don't want to be seen as getting it wrong or making bad choices.As a parent, it's critical to remember that we don't have ultimate control over our children's actions and choices. Of course, we can think deeply about how we want to interact with our kids and important ways we can support them, but if things go off the rails, it doesn't mean that it's our fault or that we're bad parents. Plus, holding on to the guilt that likely comes up when you feel like you've worked hard and the kids (still!) aren't getting it right doesn't help you get a clear picture of how to course correct or decide what to do next. Taking baby steps at encouraging a child to interact with things that are hard for them – in this case, talking about food, is the best way forward. You help them to build some thicker skin about topics that they feel like they can't talk about without becoming overwhelmed. As a parent, don't forget that sometimes change happens slowly: The problem didn't arise overnight and it takes some patience, love, and good strategy to shift long-standing challenges with food. For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!Mentioned in this episode:Need help getting your kid the right snacks?That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com

It's so hard to stay level when you're parenting – and adding type 1 to the mix can really turn up the temperature on feeling out of control. In this week's podcast, Annie and I talk together about a question from “Feeling out of control in Albuquerque” who is struggling with the anger that can sweep over her when something goes sideways with diabetes. Annie and I both relate to this mom. We know what it's like to feel like you've got the hang of this disease – that you can handle what it throws at you – only to find yourself yelling and distressed. Being more seasoned as a T1D caregiver can trick you into thinking that the problems have gone away and that it will all be smooth sailing. A few highlights; It's super normal to feel angry when there's a big pump failure or when diabetes side-swipes you. What's important is to separate your feelings from the behavior that comes next. Yelling is probably not your next best move. ; But to handle the anger and not start yelling, it's also important to practice making more room for your feelings. That anger may be telling you that you need (and deserve) more support and connection around the problems that come up. It might also indicate that you need to give yourself permission for these tough feelings – even as you're putting the brakes on some of the behaviors. It's okay to talk to your kids about being angry, as long as you're being age appropriate. Even better is to show them ways to manage that anger appropriately. We go into this more in the show!Sign up for my free The T1D Partner Toolbox webinar on May 17 at 5:30PT/8:30 ET. Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!

For many parents, with or without T1D, food triggers so much baggage and confusion. On the one hand, we want to serve what's healthy and limit “junk” food. We also don't want to be overly restrictive: We know that as children get older, it's going to be up to them to start making their own smart choices. And if we never give them chips or ice cream, there's a good chance they're going to opt for that when they finally have the chance.And how much more complicated is this when we fold type 1 into the mix? We want our kids to have good glycemic control – and it often feels like that's about restricting food choices. How's a parent going to win this one? Together with fellow T1D mom Annie, JoAnne talks through a question written in from Health Food Mama in Detroit, who explains that she has started finding wrappers in her 9-year-old daughter's room.“She's sneaking food,” writes Health Food Mama. “She also has high blood sugar often in a way that doesn't make sense. She's eating junk. Most of the stuff I don't even keep in the house - I think she's getting it from friends in school.”How do I encourage her to make good food choices?” she asks.Here's what JoAnne has to say:“I hear this kind of question often because parents often have concerns about how their kids should be eating. With T1Dkids, it's about keeping good glycemic control and not being too restrictive.” This 9-year-old is feeding herself by getting her own food. What she is doing is eating without dosing, and not sneaking food. This is a really important distinction because sneaking makes it sound malicious and bad.We don't want to shame our children for feeding themselves. She is feeding herself and we need to figure out how to dose for it.”How to make all foods are acceptable Another important topic in this episode is how to eliminate the idea that there are good and bad foods. This is especially important in preventing eating disorders, which is a risk factor for people with type 1.Not to mention that it's human nature for children to crave or want more of foods that are considered forbidden. The remedy? Make all foods acceptable. For Health Food Mama and other concerned parents facing this issue, the suggestion is to start stocking the pantry with some of the foods you find your child “sneaking.”Say to your child: “You don't have to sneak these foods. I see that you are eating this. It is now here in the pantry. We can eat them sometimes. This is not forbidden – it is a sometimes food.”They get more choice in feeding themselves and as parents, we figure out how to dose for it.For more on creating a balance with eating for your T1D kids, check out Sweet Talk's free Sweet Talk Snack Course.Sign up for my free The T1D Partner Toolbox webinar on May 17 at 5:30PT/8:30 ET.Stay tuned for our next episode of the Sweet Talk podcast! Like, subscribe, and share!