My 7 Yr Old Son And His Diabetes.

[Jenarry]

My 7 year old son made me feel sad tonight and I just needed to share . he has developed quite a fear of the dark to the point that now in the evenings at home he insists on me going to the bathroom with him. Our bathroom is downstairs and that end of the house including the bathroom has no blinds or curtains which i need to do something about I know but i was trying to reassure him that our house is a lovely, safe, happy house and there is nothing to worry about.
I asked him 'what's the worst thing that has happened in our house'(knowing that there hasn't been anything ) and my son thought for a few seconds and said that he was diagnosed(with type 1 diabetes when he was 3 yrs old) .
Bless his heart. I have always tried to have a matter of fact attitude with my son about his diabetes although it does worry me silly in the short and long term although i obviously don't share these thoughts with my son.It breaks my heart when he says things like this . It was the worst moment in my life when our GP first told me he suspected diabetes and then when it was confirmed with a hospital visit the following day although I think I kept it together quite well . :O( and still my son although young knows how terrible this time was.

[Mamyalynne]

Oh bless you, that must have struck to your very heart - but at least he shared. He is getting to the age when he may want to talk about it more, the darkness thing is an extension of his inner worries (totally normal) encourage him to talk and get him to help you choose some cheery blinds for that area.

He sounds a wonderful boy. Well done Mum. x

[sherrardk]

If it was me, I would tackle the darkness bit first. Sort out curtains and maybe even get him a head torch (and maybe some sort of adventurer's bag with bits and bobs in so it's not too obvious that you are trying to sort out the darkness issue) and make out it's some sort of adventure. Try to distract his from his diabetes, it's obviously not going to go away but I don't think he can remember when he was diagnosed but maybe he doesn't know how to tell you that the dark is the problem. In my children's bedroom I use fairy lights as a night light and they have lasted ages, must be five years now so maybe could use them somehow. Must be hard, bless him, x

[pixie373]

Aaaw. They can scare the life out of you. My son's asthma has terrified me a few times. I agree with mamya and sherr. He probably needs some reassurance about the dark at the moment, so go with that first. Maybe next time, ask him, "what's the best thing that's happened in this house?"

[Hymie]

When I was young (maybe your son's age), I was aware that many were affraid of the dark. But I would think to myself that there is nothing there to be scared of, that isn't there when the light is on.

This could be proved by turning the light on (if I so wished) - with this logic, the dark held little fear for me (other than tripping down stairs).

Perhaps if you explain the above to your son, it might help - nevertheless I would still recommend that at night he turns on the light whenever using the stairs.

[Maydup]

How about a couple of those little low level night lights which plug into the sockets? You could have them on route to the bathroom without disturbing anyone else and may offer him some comfort.

My husband always takes one on holiday!

You can get them from more or less anywhere but here's an example from Argos at £10 for two


http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9829079.htm

[Jenarry]

ah thankyou everyone for your answers. When I say on the evening..i mean 6 or 7 o'clock when we are sat eating our dinner or chilling watching tv afterwards so lights on the living/diningroom and kitchen which then leads on to the bathroom and me and my oh are around but my son still wants me to walk with him to the bathroom and stay in there with him till he's finished. Thankfully due to better blood sugar control he doesn't wake in the night for the loo as much these days and when he does sometimes he dashes downstaris on his own and other times he wakes me up to join him. :(

[Jenarry]

Hymie.. I was trying this last week in mattie's bedroom . i had all his favourite toys around him, i was next to him and even our pet cat came and joined us and i explained that his room is full of his favourite things and we are always around and our house is safe and happy.when the lights are on or off. he is quite good at bedtime as soon as his curtains are closed ,he has a nightlight on all night and he has a cabin bed with the drapes down like a den which makes him feel safe.( i remember being the same and being terrified and my mum being quite stern about the whole thing and i dreaded bedtime every night. I think i just need to invest in a blind for the bathroom and one for a little window in the little hallway that leads through to the bathroom.

[Mamyalynne]

I think the torch idea is a good one as said above, it will pass trust me.

[atalanta]

In the middle of my hoiuse - visible from upstairs and down, I have an emergency light plugged into a convenient socket. When it is charging, it emits a not-very-strong blue light. If the power is cut, or the torch-element is removed from the socket, it becomes a bright white light. The blue light is enough for people to find their way, but the white light provides bright illumination when needed/ But it's not really the light , is it ? My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and he seemed to fall painfully ill every night - I think he was in fact ( maybe unconsciously) testing me to see if I could keep him safe from his illness. Eventually, he did accept that between us, the doctor and I were going to keep him well. And alive.

[anneasquith]

what a brave wee boy you have,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:)

[Jenarry]

thankyou everyone. I didn't occur to me that the 2 issues may be related. I think I will have a little chat again with Mattie at a good time with regards how he feels about his diabetes. And if it is unrelated I'm not sure a torch is going to help unfortunately.Mattie explains it to me that he doesn't like to see the darkness of outside through our windows so i have been looking at blinds today .
Atalanta ,bless your son . How old was he when he went through this testing phase?...

[atalanta]

He was nine. But rejoice - he is well, and now he is the father of two healthy little children himself.
But he had a few frightening "wobblies" as we called them. And he always fully recovered. There's a story here -
One day I was waiting in the emergency dept of the hospital for him to be allowed to go home, and heard through the curtain the people visiting the old man in the next bed
"How are you, Granddad ?" " Are you better, dad ? " "How's Uncle ?" etc etc.
he replied - "oo, I've been ever so much better since they took out the cafetiere"

[voulezvous]

Most kids get scared of stuff from time to time, maybe it's not his biggest fear? Maybe he is just thinking gremlins?
You are doing a great job, I can't imagine how much this must affect your life. My father is insulin dependant and it's a constant battle, so I can imagine how it must be for you. Just keep on keeping on. The BEST day of your life was when they spotted his diabetes, otherwise it's not worth thinking of.

[FredKBland]

I appreciate your feeling for your son and happy to know that he is well know. But i would make you aware more about the diabetes because it is not a disease that don't reveres. It may revers that's why although your son is well know but actually he needs to care more. I would suggest you to use ayurvedic medicine to get permanent solution of diabetes. It is very effective and provide permanent solution. Media URL: http://www.kuberaksha.com
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[Sarahmorris22]

My teenage son has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
I was told by his nurse we could claim DLA (disability living allowance)
we have received his decision back but I’m not too sure if he is receiving the correct components. Is there anyone else with a similar situation that can help and what a child with type 1 should receive?