Hello From southern Cali

[monicae]

Hello, my name is Monica.
My son was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I am lost and stressed out. Not knowing what to do is scary. My husband and I want to get some ideas on a healthy kid friendly diet. Is there anyone that can give a newbie advice?:confused:

[mjtjmcouch]

There are many many people here to help you and give you advice. First some questions. How old is your son and what insulin regimine is he on?


This is the main page with links to so much info http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/
This shows you all the forums http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/
This page has two sticky threads at the top to help you with acronyms and abbreviations
http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3

Kid friendly diet, many feed their kids special diets and many keep their kids on a diet close to what they were on pre diagnosis. Do you have specific areas you have questions about ? Snacks, drinks, meals?

You will find a wealth of info here. Sometimes it's too much info and it can get confusing. Remember though, this is a marathon not a sprint and you never really master Diabetes, you just PRACTICE at Diabetes, every hour of every day.

[monicae]

There are many many people here to help you and give you advice. First some questions. How old is your son and what insulin regimine is he on?

My son is 14, he is on Novolog 3 times and Lantus 1 time a day.

[monicae]

Do you have specific areas you have questions about ? Snacks, drinks, meals?

Both snacks and meals, his diet before diagnosis included alot of junk-chips, twinkie type stuff, candy and soda. He ate regular meals that were fairly healthy.

[mjtjmcouch]

So he probably wants to eat everything in your house. I know my 13 yr old does. My D son is only 4 but has a fairly healthly appetite. With your insulin plan he should be able to eat pretty much what he wants within reason. Is he a picky eater?

[monicae]

He actually is not a picky eater, he is very willing to try anything. My husband wants to go real extreme on his diet and this sudden change is really hard for my son to deal with. I am also afraid of food right now, and feel I am not completely understanding how to put things together in the right way.

[Twinklet]

Don't put him on an extreme diet! That will only cause him to rebel later and it isn't necessary.

Have you learned how to carb count yet?

I recall when my daughter was diagnosed, I was terrified of food. I didn't want to give her a bun for her hot dog! After all, it has carbs!

You do know that this disease is autoimmune and is not caused by diet, right? The important thing now is to learn how to carb count and keep things as normal as you can. You will learn a lot over the next few months, so baby-step it! :)

[monicae]

sorry but it is extremely important to us that a healthy diet is put in place, not only am I concerned about his diabetes but his over all health. There have been reports with a healthy diet it can reduce and maintain his blood surger.

[monicae]

I am sorry, My husband decided to reply for me. I totally am where you were. We are going to be taking a carb. counting class in about 2 weeks, I can not wait. I know that I will have a better understanding about the whole carb. thing at that time. I guess this is just the beginning of a whole new world. Again, I apologize for my husbands rudeness. Obviously our before D diet contradicts healthy eating.

[Jeff]

Eating a heathy diet is important for everyone, diabetes or not.

Remember that kids with diabetes want to fit in, just like all kids do. They don't want to be the only kid at the lunch table with a bag of carrots when all the other kids have cookies.

I believe that part of learning to live with diabetes is to find the inner strength and confidence to bring the bag of carrots, and also to learn how to carb count and bolus for the cookies. Both are important.

If your summer isn't completely planned, a trip to Orlando in July for CWD's Friends for Life conference would be a great experience for your whole family. If that won't work, we have a conference scheduled for La Jolla in October 2009. Our full conference schedule is online at:

http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/activities/

[StillMamamia]

Hi Monica.

I'm sorry for your child's dx, but would like to welcome you here. This place if full of caring, wonderful and knowledgeable persons.

We don't follow a strict diet at all. We try to keep it simple and healthy, but do allow our kid to be a kid and to enjoy birthday parties and eating at the restaurant (ice-cream included).
In the beginning food seems like an enemy, when in fact it's not. You will learn so much about nutrition, and one day food won't seem so daunting as it does now. To me, it's not about food, it's about choices.
If you need book titles, there's a Diabetes Book Club forum on this site.

[HBMom]

We try and keep our son's diet as close to "normal" for a kid his age. People who are not "in the know" tend to see him eat and say "can he have that?" or sometimes if we are at a party, a friend will notice him eating and tell me "just so you know - he is eating a lot of cake, etc.", but I just explain that we cover his carbs with insulin. So, a healthy diet is important, but being a kid is important too. Especially with the new diagnosis, you don't want to pile any more restrictions on top of him than you have to.

We're in Southern Cal to - if you are close by we could get together if that would help. Feel free to pm me if needed.

[HBMom]

Another thought - you can definitely make changes in your families diet by gradually introducing healthier foods (i.e. if you eat white rice, try serving brown rice......add more fruits and veggies....). A gradual change might make it easier for your son to accept, but again, not completely doing away with the "treats".

[monicae]

I really appreciate all the responses I have received so quickly, I can see that this site is going to be a huge support. We were able to go get some things today at Trader Joes and Clarks that our son was really excited about. I am also going to look into joining a support group that my son can also be involved in, so he can meet some other kids dealing with this. We live about 20 mins. from Palm Springs, does anyone have any info on this?

[monicae]

Caryn, I appreciate your support. Maybe at some point we can get to know each other. Our sons are about the same age. THANKS!

[HBMom]

Don't know if this is close enough to you, but the Diabetic Youth Services group has camps and activities and I have heard GREAT things about them (although we haven't attended yet). Here's the website:

http://www.dys.org/

[monicae]

WOW! Thanks, this camp is very close to where I live, about 30 minutes.