Ask Our Team
How do you get a 12 year old to give her own shots? We are trying, but she will have no part in it yet!
Responses
Gary Scheiner says
That's a difficult question to answer, because every kid is different.In some cases, the child has severe anxiety over needle sticks, in which case desensitization therapy with a counselor could be very helpful. Other kids just don't care for sticking themselves so many times a day. An injection port such as the I-Port might be the solution. I've known kids who felt very self-conscious about using syringes in public (due to the image they portray). Use of a pen might alleviate that. But in most cases, kids just like the attention they get from their parents. They figure that as long as they refuse to take the shots, their parents will take care of it for them. When that happens, the parents must take a very firm stance.
Deana Herrera Walker says
It is so important for any person with diabetes to take full responsibility for their health and their life with diabetes. So the question is.....Is this something your daughter would just rather you do? Or does she not want to take ownership of her life with diabetes? Obviously, those are two very different scenarios. Believe it or not, this question made me chuckle a bit. It brought me back to being 19 years-old and still asking my family members to give me my injections.(I switched to an insulin pump when I as 19.) I was a full-time college student, full-time dance teacher, full-time Miss New York and took 100% responsibility for my diabetes. However, I just preferred to have other people I trusted give my injection if they were available. (Of course there were plently of times when I was on my way to one event or another and had to do my own injection. It never was a problem it was just not my preference.) On the other hand, if your daughter does not want to take part in managing her diabetes, I urge you to have her realize that she is her #1 advocate. As a mother of a child with diabetes, even though Brooke is only 4, I feel it is my job to give her the tools/ability to make the right choices for her health. Even at this young age, she is not with me every single minute of every single day. In the times where I am not there to help her, I want her to have the power and knowledge to help herself as best she can. I truly feel this is one of the biggest gifts I can give to her. As a person living with diabetes for over 22 years, I know there were MANY times where no one was there to help me. Thankfully, my family and care team had empowered me with the proper tools,ability and confidence to hold my life in my own hands.
With that said, living with diabetes is not exactly "fun". It is, however, a part of life. I would always tell myself and now tell my daughter, "Insulin is a part of what we have to do so that we can move on and enjoy a wonderful and productive day". Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
