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 sh...

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...

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 ea...

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 bein...

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 play...

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 com...

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 sepa...

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,...

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...

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 com...

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.  A...

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.&nbsp...

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 m...

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...

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 ki...

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.  ...

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 na...

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,...

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 wh...

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 c...

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 Like 37: When Family Doesn't Understand What It’s Like for You to Parent Type...

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 th...

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) D...

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 r...

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, Kayl...