Type 1 diabetes, Christmas and summer holidays (video)
No matter what your plans are, summertime and the holiday season can mean your child’s type 1 diabetes is a little trickier to manage. But with some planning and flexibility, everyone can have fun and stay safe.
In our final Let’s Talk T1D session of 2024, we chatted about managing your child’s type 1 diabetes (T1D) at Christmas and over the summer holidays – with all the fun and craziness that can come at that time of year.
Listen to Melanie Cullen, a psychologist and JDRF’s mental health lead, and Fiona, a credentialled diabetes educator, as they share helpful tips for every family that lives with T1D. Melanie is the mum of a 19-year-old who has lived with T1D since he was almost 2, and Fiona was diagnosed with T1D over 3 decades ago, so between them they have a lot of lived experience – and advice.
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During the chat we covered:
- activity management, including how to protect pumps and use CGMs when swimming and in the snow
- advice on what to do when camping off-grid
- ideas on how to build your ‘village’, to have others to help with your child’s T1D
- how to work with your diabetes team to adjust insulin during holidays
- how to manage holiday snacks and treats (and why your child’s levels can be so unpredictable at this time of year)
- tips on managing varying sleep routines (holiday sleep-ins and late nights)
- advice on flying with devices
- clever products to help while travelling or over the summer break.
Overall, Melanie and Fiona want all parents and carers to try to stay relaxed and have fun over the holiday period. The goal is to focus on celebration and to not stress about maintaining ‘ideal’ blood glucose levels at such a special time of year. Links mentioned during the chat:
- Join our private Facebook group for parents and carers of kids and teens with T1D
- Watch our previous chat all about travelling with T1D, including cruises, flying and more
- Frio insulin cooling pouches
- Our guide to T1D for adults, which contains helpful travel information
- Beyond Type 1: Insulin tips for skiing and snowboarding with T1D
- Beyond Type 1: Celebrations and holidays
- NDSS: Travelling with T1D
- TSA Cares (for flying in the US)
Disclaimer: All advice is general in nature. Please speak to your diabetes team for information suited to you and your individual situation.
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