You may think that having diabetes is only your business and only you and your family need to know about it. Even though you may feel nervous about telling your classmates, it’s a good idea to let them know you have diabetes and to teach them a little bit about it. Showing them your medical alert tag may help to start the conversation.
Why it’s Important
If your blood sugar gets low at school, it could be helpful for your classmates to know what is happening and how to help you. They may also wonder why you have to test your blood sugar or why you have a snack before playing a ball game. Don’t worry. Your parents and healthcare team can help you find ways to tell your classmates about diabetes. Here are some great tips to help you get started.
Tips for Telling Your Classmates
- Do a special project about diabetes. It could be a science project about how diabetes affects your body or a report about kids with diabetes.
- Bring a book about diabetes to school.
- On World Diabetes Day in November, hold a fundraiser for diabetes, ask your classmates to join you in a diabetes walk, or put up posters that tell the signs and symptoms of high and low blood sugar.
- Your child can talk to their classmates about their blood sugar meter and the games that they play on their computer, Nintendo DS™ or Nintendo DS™ Lite. Tell them about Knock ‘Em Downs™: World’s Fair and their other games.
- Write a personal story about your life with diabetes to share your joys and struggles with your classmates. This can help them better understand diabetes.
- Put on a puppet show that teaches your class about diabetes.