That would make me crazy!
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I donât know! Weâve never tried this!
This actually very much my normal parenting style, but this has been a blind spot for me.
Ok, might want to give this a try then. My son is good with coming up with the plan, but doesnât always live up to his pre-event choices. But using this approach, usually gives us less of a fight than if we came up with the plan and he didnât buy into it.
With all that said, I am convinced there is no perfect way, teenagers just want to fight sometimesâŚ
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@sahmcolorado, so glad to see you with us!
My T1D son is soon 14, and was diagnosed 2.5 years ago. We try to treat aggressively, and we are sugar surfers. My son has a G5 and a pump, but occasionally will go w/o a Dexcom for a day or two, mostly for practice. I am an engineer by formation and my wife is in sales and marketing. We have another son who is a rising junior in college. We lived in WI until last month, but are now on a wide European tour for a year.
I look forward to reading your posts!
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You have quite a challenge. I agree w @Chris on this. I will ask my son to post on your thread: a view from a 14-year old. My two thoughts are:
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Feedback and communications with/from T1D peers would be ideal because they will influence her more than her parents
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I tend to try to find a quid pro quo with my kids, involving freedom and responsibility: you getote freedom but the price is you need to take on more responsibility. Is it possible for you to formulate some of her choices that way, with respect to her responsibility to manage her BG?
My son is somewhat like @Chrisâs: self managing except at night, good plans, will to do it all himself, not always perfect follow-upâŚ
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I was diagnosed at age 5, but has been decades since my teens. It was much easier back then, since treatment consisted of one injection per day, urine testing, and NO candy.
But the cost has been several complications, but doing well with all the newer technology now.
Not sure if this was mentioned, but wonder if she feels a need to hide her diabetes, or to not let others see her checking cgm or dosing. Maybe she has been teased about it.
I do recall being teased by neighbor kids and siblings about having shots, and taunted with forbidden sweets. It made me wish I never had diabetes, and with todayâs treatment there is certainly more time per day thinking about it and performing actions and decisions for it.
Iâm guessing she has often thought âI wish I didnât have to to XXXâ, and then doesnât.
I know the stats from T1D Exchange show that teens as a group have the highest A1C averages.
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I think this is something we can try.
Not teased, but she really hates when anyone asks her about it. Sheâs a pretty private person. She usually doesnât try to hide it. She wears her pump clipped to the waistband of her pants and her site on her arm with tubing hanging out and her sensor on the other arm. Sometimes she will move things around and wear sleeves to cover anything on her arm if sheâs going to be around a lot of strangers so that she doesnât have to field questions.
Iâve always been surprised that she seems to have no inhibitions about checking and dosing.
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This evening my husband and I talked to our daughter about a plan for the river rafting day. I said Iâd like to talk about a plan for it and she enthusiastically said she already had one and went to get the waist belt she wanted to carry her glucose, and testing supplies in. I reminded her about the waterproof pouch we have and she wanted to try it for her Dex receiver right away.
Equipment managed, I asked her what she thought would be a good plan for checking BG and she listed all the transition, like boarding the bus, arriving there, before getting on the raft, etc. No prompting from us at all.
Then I asked if she felt she would need anyone to remind her, offering to drive out there if she thought that would be helpful. She definitely does not want me to go there and suggested that the friend she is going with could remind her. She said that friend is really good about that. Yay!
I asked what she thought about me telling an adult about her diabetes just so that an adult would be aware of it and she said that would be OK and asked me to tell them not to check on her, but that she would let them know if she doesnât feel well or needs help. She said she hates it when people keep asking if sheâs OK. I would too.
I think that in the next few days, Iâll mention that Iâm agreeing not to drove out there as long as she feels sure that she can remember to check before she gets on the raft.
Weâll definitely follow up after and ask her how well she thinks she did.
I so appreciate everyoneâs help. Iâm felling so much more positive and hopefulabout the whole situation.
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And if everything falls through, I would still walk away from this conversation feeling like itâs a victory and like itâs a good place to set the bar. To me, you guys shared positive communication about the management of diabetes. You established a plan. She even communicated some of her preferences. In my experience, when it comes time to put plan into action, things can go awry. Itâs not a sign sheâs done anything wrong⌠itâs just a big leap between intentions and execution. If you establish this kind of communication, you can evaluate, adjust, and try again.
Thereâs a lot of light in that conversation⌠certainly a lot to be feeling hopeful about. 
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There have been so many times this site has given me ideas and support as we work through difficult problems, that i have lost count. I hope you are able to work through this one as well. It sounds like your daughter has a good head on her shoulders, even if she doesnât always make the best decisions. That is a great start in my book! Please let us know how it went.
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The OmniPod might be worth looking at.
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I contacted the rec coordinator and let her know about my daughterâs T1D. My daughter asked me to make sure they know not to ask her if sheâs OK or draw attention to her because she finds that embarrassing. I did and the gal said she would be sure to pass that on.
I also got details about how she can bring supplies that canât get wet and how long theyâll be on the water. It will likely be 2 hrs, much longer than I had guessed. Anyway, she was very supportive and helpful. Iâm sometimes afraid to tell people because I worry that they wonât want to have any responsibility, so was relieved.
Iâll update you guys on how it goes. The trip is Tuesday!
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