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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
I've been asked to go and show my pump and chat to a 6 year old who's likely to be put on a pump. Apparently she's a little worried about the whole thing (I'm a parent also, but I'm the only diabetic in my family).
It's a tricky one and the final answer will be with what you're comfortable with and it depends on the child and also their attitude to diabetes.
As a pumper and father to a non-D 6 year-old boy my instinct would be to be as honest as I could. Explain the good points and the bad points. Excuse me if I'm being patronising here but I'd put it in language they might understand. i.e. rather than saying it 'gives much better control", talk about how "hard work setting it up will mean you can do lots more things like sport without having to constantly eat sweets".
Ultimately it depends on the child but I'd take this chance to give them someone who understands what they're going through. When I was younger I rarely saw another diabetic but was constantly warned that I'd go blind and impotent by the time I was 30. Just once it would have been nice to see someone who lived it but proved that getting out of childhood without too much going wrong wasn't impossible.
Hi, That sounds like a lovely idea. I imagine the child would like to see the pump and maybe the canula so they can see that it is not scary or painful.
Also, it would be worth saying that she wont have to take injections for food anymore which is always an added bonus. More flexibility for sport and playing games outside. Can eat more flexibly I would imagine.
You would need to ask her (and her parents?) what she is currently taking so that you can see what the advantages will be.
Good luck with sharing you experiences. Mostly I suspect she will just be curious to see one.
As others have said I would expect her to be worried about:
Do cannulas hurt?
Being attached to something all day
Sleeping
Having to do lots more tests
Will her friends think its weird?
Will it actually meal fewer hypos?
I'm sure you'll handle her concerns brilliantly - just telling her that pizza and party food become much easier to eat will probably be enough
As other have said talk to her on her level. Let her see and play with the pump. Perhaps arrange with parents you stay for tea and let the youngster press your pump buttons for blood sugar input and insulin delivery.
Also if you have any links show all the great cases that the pump can be kept in. Colours for a child are most important as well. If she is having a hard time with control she will feel rotten as well so tell her how much better you feel on a pump.
Have fun 🙂
