52: Meeting the Needs of Your T1D Sibling

Sweet Talk for Parents of Kids with Type One Diabetes

This week a mom came on the show to talk about her son who was diagnosed a little less than a month ago — but, amazingly, she didn’t have a question about him! Instead, she wanted to think about her 5-year-old non-T1D daughter who had come to her, saying that she feels “left out” of the family since the diagnosis. I am so impressed that this mom not only had the bandwidth to think about her daughter’s needs but also to come onto the show. I know that when my son was a month from diagnosis, I was still reeling.

We talk together about how this mom has already started to address her daughter’s feeling of being an outsider: She and her husband are working to spend a little extra one-on-one time each day with her. Mom also got the wonderful idea from another T1D parent to create a little surprise grab bag for her daughter. That way, in small moments when the attention is turned to diabetes, there’s a little something extra for this non-T1D sibling, too.

I have some suggestions in the episode about ways mom can talk to her daughter, both to validate her experience as well as to strengthen this little girl's already amazing skill of self-advocacy. We also look at the difference between “feeling left out” and being ignored or side-lined and think about how this girl can be appropriately integrated into diabetes care. Finally, we talk about how sometimes we just can’t meet everyone’s needs and we have to ask our non-T1D sibs to wait as we adjust to or focus on diabetes.

Listen to hear more about:

• How to tend to kids who are jealous of their type 1 sibling and thoughts about how to level the playing field
• Making sure that food isn’t restricted for siblings, as you’re trying to figure out dosing for your T1D child
• Thinking about “consent” when getting diabetes help from your non-T1D sibling

Mentioned in this episode:

Need help getting your kid the right snacks?

That's why I've created the Sweet Talk Snack Course. It's a free mini-course to give you 6 snack sized lessons on making sure you're giving your kid the right foods to keep them nourished and their blood sugar in check. Get it at https://diabetessweettalk.com