Student with Diabetes

[mitchus]

I have a student in my class with diabetes. His parents are great and he is responsible, but problems arise for birthdays. Every parent wants to bring in cupcakes to celbrate their child's birthday, but of course he can't have any. His parents say that they would like the nurse to give him an extra unit of insulin so that he can receive the treat and not be left out. The nurse said that I need to come up with something else because he can't continue to manage his diabetes this way. Can you think of any suggestions to celebrate a classroom birthday without sweets?

Thanks!

 

[ritateach]

donate books

Perhaps you can ask your parents to donate a book to your classroom instead of sending in a treat? I've heard of that before.

 

[luvnjesus]

Alternatives

I have two "special food" kiddos in my class. One is a potentially fatal peanut allergy and the other one is diabetic. Both parents have sent in bags of "safe treats" for special occasions. This has worked very well for us.

 

[Azure]

I also had a student with

diabetes. The parent and child wanted the cupcakes so...the child got extra insulin. It didn't happen often where cupcakes were sent in. But life is short and if the child wants a cupcake and can take care of it through extra insulin..why not?? I don't think it's up to the nurse to decide what the child can and can not eat. Eating cupcakes and everything else kids eat go with growing up and going through school. It sounds like the parent is monitoring closely what the child eats. Good for her.

 

[beach06]

Last year

I had a student last year with diabetes. She has an insulin pump and anytime a treat was sent in, she participated. We just put in the amount of carbs for the treat and she received the extra insulin.

We had a bag of her treats from home in case something came in that I didn't have the carbs for so she could still have something while everyone else did.

 

[annie ann]

Treats

Last year I had two severe allergies -one to peanuts and one to eggs (We were a peanut free room). Both parents sent in alternative treats that I kept in the classroom for the kids. The child with the severe egg allergy had cupcakes that the mom had made at home (egg-free). I kept them in a baggy in the freezer.When there was a birthday I would take it out in the morning and it was ready to eat by the time we celebrated.

 

[2ndGradeDeb]

One year I was also in this predicament. If parents wanted to celebrate a birthday, they were asked to send in sugar-free popsicles for each student . All of the students enjoyed them!

 

[Cathy-Dee]

other ideas

I'm wondering if his parents could bake something or send something that would be safe for him to eat. There are "diabetic desserts" that he could eat.

Usually fruit is a viable option so that might be an idea as well - some sort of special fruit tray instead.

And as far as what the nurse says - I would ask the parents to get a letter from their child's doctor on whether having the extra shot is fine or not. If his doctor is ok with it - then you can hand the nurse the letter which would take away her power to make the decision.

In my classroom we do not have treats on birthdays. Instead I do the following....

- the birthday child gets a pencil and a trip to my prize box. They also get a birthday postcard from me.
- the rest of the students fill out a page for a "birthday book" which I then collate and give to the student at the end of the day. During the time my students are making the book - my birthday student gets free time (usually they choose the computer).

I've attached my birthday book page (hopefully correctly)

 

[mitchus]

Thanks!

This is wonderful, thank you for the attachment!

 

[mitchus]

Thank you!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have a few things to go back with next week. Hopefully I can continue to make birthdays special while helping my student properly manage his diabetes. I really appreciate your help!

 

[Thing 1]

I have

two diabetic students, one on a pump and one who does injections. We do not have school nurses so it falls on me (I am a SPED teacher and Gen ed teachers can refuse to treat medical conditions per our contract). Any way, when a treat arises the kids test before the treat. Depending on their number, they either have the treat or it is saved for later. We also will make insulin adjustments as needed.

 

[Zeebie]

Alternative Treats

Maybe the parents could bring a non-food treat item for each student in the class like a small trinket or toy like the kind that are given out at home birthday parties.

 

[smithf1]

diabetes

As the parent of a child with diabetes I don't think that the nurse should be telling the parent HOW to manage the diabetes. That is the job of the doctor and the parents.

Over the years treatment of type 1 diabetes has changed dramatically, perhaps the school nurse has not kept up. With carb counting the child can have most anything as long as it is covered with insulin.

My son's doctor always says that a child with diabetes is a child first. They don't like to be different if they don't have to be. I would do just as the parents have suggested. If the nurse will not do so, have the child's doctor write a note.

 

[Cathy-Dee]

Here is the cover page as well

I was reading the posts late last night and didn't have the energy to do another post.

Here is the cover page I am using this year for the birthday book.

 

[Mrs. R]

In my school, we've eliminated birthday treats due to the very high number of life-threatening allergies we have. We do allow party (Halloween, Valentine's Day, etc.)food from a list of approved foods, but we felt that birthday treats happened more often and are really unnecessary. In my class, students get to pick a birthday pencil, chooses a birthday book from the class bin for me to read aloud, and the class sings Happy Birthday. He or she gets a sticker that says "It's my Birthday" so every adult they pass wishes them a happy one. In other classes, teachers do a birthday book like the one mentioned above. Some teachers have a birthday cake chair cover that the chiild uses for the day. In the upper grades, the class gets an extra recess on a chilld's birthday. Children quickly get used to not bringing in sugary treats for their birthdays. It will be healthier for the whole class, not just the child with diabetes.

 

[readerleader]

diabetes

Diabetes is a life threatening disease. A cupcake is not worth it. Medication is not a solution for diabetes. A healthy diet is the most important weapon against it. I know it is not fair, but this child needs to learn now that he just cannot eat certain things.

 

[tpateacher]

Diabetic student

I also have a student who is on an insulin pump. My school nurse explained that giving extra insulin can affect the student later on down the road. If he does not manage his diabetes correctly now, he could start having problems with organ damage as early as his 20s. I would definitely get a doctor's note for this one.

As far as treats, I would just have the parents send in some snacks you can keep for birthdays and parties.

 

[hhkdg]

student with diabetes

I have a student in my room who has diabetes. She is also my niece. She just recently had a wireless pod put in. She puts a new one one about every two days. I don't know if this is a possibility for your student but this has worked out great for my niece. She checkes her sugar before lunch/snacks etc and then can enter the amount into her portable pod (it is small like an ipod). She doesn't have to give herself shots anymore. She only has to check her sugar. She gets to participate with all parties and doesn't feel left out. However, even without the pod, she still participated and just gave herself an insulin shot after the party to cover for the carbs that she ate. I would see if that is an option. If not, ask the parents to send in a special snack.

 

[mitchus]

This isn't a possiblilty for him yet. His doctors are still working to get him on a stable sliding scale. He was just diagnosed this summer and they'd like to have him stable for a year before they put him on a pump.

 

[MalibuBarbie]

Not Stable Yet????

Then why the heck is the parent asking for him to eat CUPCAKES???? Sorry...it just hit a nerve with me. I don't think the parents GET the severity of their son's diagnosis yet. I'm sure they want him to be "normal" and they feel guilty or sorry for him but OMG, he has a life threatening disease!

tpateacher has it RIGHT!!!! Get a doctor's note! The doctor is trying to get the kid STABLE for goodness sake! Doesn't sound like the parents should be calling the shots at this early stage in his disease.

Honestly, I have no experience with diabetes and we don't have a school nurse. But there is no way our office staff (the ones who administer meds) would give a kid an extra shot of insulin for a CUPCAKE without a doctor's note.

Mal

 

[mitchus]

Okay, there's more to the story...

His dad is a pediatrician, though not the one treating him for diabetes. I am not making this up. I've decided to trust their judgement, but at the same time last week I met with my class and we decided that from now on we will have non-food celebrations with the exception of the Ice Cream Party reward I give them for filling up their chart with 100% homework and other infrequent festivities. I called and talked with his mom and she said she's okay with this plan. I j ust want to do what's best for him.

 

[KMR]

My experience

Last year, I had a child with severe diabetes. (So severe, she was put on a pump when she was 3.) This year, I have a child who has a potentially fatal allergy to nuts/nut products and one who is allergic to dairy products (they think!).

This has worked well with both situations. At the beginning of the year with all the information about sending birthday snacks, etc. I put that if you are going to send/bring a special snack, I must know what it is at least two days in advance due to allergies/medical conditions....and that I want to be sure it's something all students can have. This gave me time to call the parent bringing it if it was something that someone couldn't have. It also gave me enough time to let the diabetic's mom know what the special snack would be. Her mom is VERY efficient at carb counting. This way, she could "save" enough carbs to enjoy the snack with us. The child also understood that if her sugar was high, she might have to take the cupcake home and eat it later. She was WAY more comfortable with her diabetes than most adults with it!

I also sent home a reminder whenever I sent letters home about sending snacks for special occassions that reminded parents not to send nut products, etc. With the nut allergy, if anything has nut/nut products in it, it goes back home with the child that brought it. No one gets it.

Last year, though, it took me, the child in my room (with diabetes), the school nurse, and the mom all working together. It worked out great.

 

[KMR]

One more thing....

I also had a student who was on a feeding tube last year and couldn't digest anything. The parents in the room were WONDERFUL to always bring something he could enjoy too...like stickers, or a squishy ball, etc. for him. I've found out that if the other parents know about a situation, there isn't really an issue with it. Of course, I understand that there are confidentiality issues, but the parents of the children involved would much rather their child be included than not....therefore, they didn't mind me including that information on the notes home. (Also, the kids always knew about the feeding tube and the diabetes anyway. It wasn't anything that was secretive/hidden.)