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Parenting is tough under the best of circumstances. It’s even tougher when you’re parenting a teen. Adolescence is hard for teens too, as they struggle to cope with hormonal changes, have increased desires for independence, and are also more vulnerable to low motivation and risk-taking behaviours. This makes parenting incredibly challenging when your teenager has diabetes.
Why Parenting A Teen With Diabetes Is So Tough
Aside from the hormones, growth changes, and increased desire for independence, there are various factors that come into play. During the teen years, brain development is still not complete and teens have different priorities, focused more on short term goals. They are less capable of assessing the long-term consequences of their actions in the present.
Unfortunately, when living with diabetes, lifestyle choices and behaviours need to be shaped with diabetes as the main priority, considering the long-term impact of poor diabetes management. This basic requirement runs counter to the temperament and mental growth stage of adolescence, making teens more likely to rebel, express frustration, and anger with having to follow a strict diabetes care routine.
5 Parenting Tips To Cope With Diabetes In Teenagers
Stay Involved
Keeping in mind that teens need some freedom, set a weekly schedule to review blood sugar numbers, allowing him/her to monitor levels independently. This helps your teen to feel more in control, while allowing you to assess any risks at the same time.
Embrace Technology
Insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring devices can be the most effective solution for managing teenage diabetes. Research shows that the use of such devices is associated with a lower risk of serious diabetes complications in teens. There’s no one-size-fits-all with such devices, so talk to your doctor first about the appropriate tech for managing diabetes in teens.
Be Supportive
As opposed to being controlling or constantly supervising, you need to be supportive. Reinforce desirable behaviours for diabetes management through an expression of support and encouragement, while avoiding anger and reprimands in other cases. A large part of being supportive involves embracing diabetes-friendly changes as a family instead of simply expecting your teen to adopt such changes.
Be On Guard
Teenagers with diabetes are more susceptible to depressive and anxiety disorders, so it’s important for parents to understand and look out for the warning signs. Because of concerns with self-esteem, diabetic teens can develop eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders and may even intentionally skip insulin doses to stop weight gain. Parents, therefore, need to be closely attuned to any behavioural changes without being intrusive.
Behaviours Before Outcomes
Instead of focusing exclusively on blood sugar numbers that can be hard to control, focus more on controllable behaviours and habits that are required to achieve better management of blood sugar levels. Work with your teen to set goals and simple strategies to achieve them, whether by changing insulin pumps, counting carbs, or stricter monitoring of sugar levels. Try to work towards the goals with your teen as a partner rather than a parent.
It can be easy to give in to anger and frustration when dealing with teens, but it’s important to keep your cool. Failure to manage diabetes effectively does not indicate any failure as a parent and it’s important to avoid feelings of guilt. If you’re struggling to manage your teen’s diabetes, you should also seek help from therapists and support groups as they can be a source of great support and helpful tips to see you through these difficult years.
