Sweet's Family section has real-life stories, information and advice for anyone who has a young family member with type 1 diabetes. In the January/February issue we focus on coping with childcare when your son or daughter has diabetes.
How to handle childcare
Kelly Rose Bradford enlists the help of Libby Dowling, a care adviser at Diabetes UK, to guide you through the emotive issue of childcare. Key to childcare working out, Libby advises that drawing up an individual healthcare plan ensures everyone is clear on the procedures for dispensing medication and most importantly how to recognise signs of an emergency, working towards a positive childcare experience. Here are her suggestions for creating a care plan:
● Regardless of your son or daughter’s childcare setting, drawing up a healthcare plan is essential.
● The plan should be devised together with both parents and healthcare professionals.
● The plan should be a working document and should be regularly updated.
● A similar, more basic document, providing details of medication and dietary needs, could be drawn for when children stay with friends and relatives.
Find further details of what a care plan should include in Sweet's Family pages this issue.
A family affair 
This issue, Sweet takes a look at the invaluable role grandparents play when a child in the family is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – both emotional and practical.
Family support is central to managing diabetes. With this in mind, Diabetes UK runs a series of family support weekends each year, welcoming all members of the family, including grandparents. The weekends, which run between May and October, act as a prime opportunity to meet other families, creating friendships and support networks, plus bags of fun for the young people and the opportunity to attend discussion groups for the adults.
The charity publishes the list of weekends on the My Life section of their website (click here) or alternatively you can call the care support team on 020 7424 1000 for further information.
All this and more in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of Sweet, on sale now!
