A night out on the town is just what mom and dad needs, but who is going to baby sit?
Grandparents are the best baby sitters, especially when they involve an overnight stay.
For parents of children with juvenile diabetes it might not be as easy. It is going to be
hard to leave your child with anyone for an extended period of time unless they know
how to take of your child and manage their diabetes.
Training and a little bit of practice is all that is needed. The good thing about
grandparents is that you know they have your child’s best interests at heart. They are
going to take the responsibility seriously and follow your instructions to the letter.
To give the grandparents confidence and make yourself feel better do a trial run. Have a
day where you are around and let grandma or grandpa take the reins for the day. It
doesn’t take much time to become comfortable with drawing and injecting the insulin and
testing blood sugar levels with a monitor.
For the first visit, help out by providing a list of step-by-step instructions as a back-up.
And you can even provide meal suggestions. Send your child with their emergency kit
(they really shouldn’t go anywhere without one anyway) and make sure everyone knows
how and when to use the contents.
Leave contact numbers where you can be reached at all times. It will give peace of mind
to everyone involved to know that if any questions arise or an emergency does develop
you are just a phone call away. Encourage the calls so that no one feels that they are
interrupting you – even for little questions.
After the first successful overnight stay, be ready for many more requests to go and stay
at grandma and grandpa’s house for a sleepover.