Introduction

A Parent perspective
There is nothing more precious than our children. We bring them into the world with a natural instinct to keep them safe from harm. When Type 1 diabetes strikes, everything we know we must do as parents is challenged. Diabetes is different in children.

Children must be allowed to grow and flourish, yet diabetes threatens their physical condition, emotional development and long-term development. Parents must help children battle serious long-term complications through careful, continuous monitoring and treatment of the disease and at the same time, encourage them to be children and live life to the fullest.

A supportive society
Children with diabetes need a society that accepts them and supports a parent’s instinct to keep them safe. This means working with parents to ensure children are safe when in school and out of their immediate care. It means making sure their physical needs are met, including access to medicines and diabetes education to manage their condition. It means providing emotional support when the burden of living with diabetes, coupled with other life stresses, becomes too difficult for a family to cope.

My job as a parent is to keep my daughter with Type 1 diabetes safe so she can grow to become a productive citizen who can make positive contributions to society. I need a society that will work with me to make this happen. We owe this to our children.

Kari Rosenfeld