Pre-school issues - Help

[pplprincess5480]

My 3yr old T1 daughter, Lottie, has been attending pre-school since before she was diagnosed. She never really settled well and became vey shy and introverted. I think this was partly due to the fact that she was becoming ill with the diabetes. I attended with her in an attempt to settle her and it was working untill she became really poorly.

After she came out of hospital following being diagnosed I went to pre-school and explained everything and asked if the would be prepared to be trained to care for her and inject her. They said this wouldn't be a problem and 2 of the 5 members of staff were given training by the DSN. I continued to attend with her as she was still very quiet and would not speak to the staff.

Before the summer holidays I discussed Lottie's care with them and said that I would feel more comfortable if all the members of staff had some traing regarding hypos and treatment. Lottie does not verbalise any symptoms, she just becomes pale and drawn, even quieter and very cuddly.

We went back for our first session after the holidays and was greeted by the pre-school leader and told that they had discussed it and as of next week I have to leave Lottie as they don't want me there anymore. I was livid to start with and then I was really upset. I don't want to seem neurotic but yesterday they had a combined toddler and pre-school session there were about 25 people in the room and apart from myself there was one trained member of staff. I was also told at snack time that she was too busy to check Lott's BGl.

I don't feel safe leaving her if she is not going to be carefully watched and with members of staff who can manage her diabetes during the 6hr sessions she is there. I feel that if she won't talk to the staff then she is unlikely to cuddle up when she is hypo either.

Basically I wanted to see what other peoples experiences were and what their thoughts were on this. My husband and I have arranged a meeting, to explain the reasons why I continue to stay with Lottie, on Friday. Am I being overprotective?

 

[leggott]

Hi. I'm sorry to hear about this. I have often found that people don't really understand the condition and the seriousness of it. Our children all look fine on the surface and most people's understanding of diabetes is that they can't eat sweet things! It might be worth your while arranging another meeting with the nursery and going over the matter again. you could also suggest that for the time being you go in to do the blood checks at say 2 hour intervals so you can gage what is going on. Having said that, if your gut feeling in that they are not taking the matter seriously then it might be worth looking at alternative childcare as I'm sure you will find that the level of involvement/commitment will vary from place to place. Leggott

 

[SophiaW]

No you're not being over protective. If Lottie needs to be tested at snack time then they must do that, it doesn't matter that they're busy. Your daughter's immediate health needs are of a higher priority and the staff need to realise this. Insist that your daughter gets the level of care that she needs in order to manage her diabetes well.

If you're concerned that they won't test your daugher at the times you've specified then you could make a phone call to the nursery at these times each day to check what her levels are. If they've neglected to do the test then this will serve as a reminder and you can then discuss the lack of testing with the nursery manager each time this happens.

Diabetics need to perform certain tasks each day to manage their condition. As your daughter is too young to do this herself then an adult must do this for her. If the nursery have agreed to manage her care without you being there then they have a duty to manage her care according to the training they have been given. Make sure you have provided the nursery with a care plan in writing which should detail everything they need to do on a daily basis to care for your daughter's diabetes.

I agree with leggott, if you're not satisfied with this nursery then look at other child care providers. You need to feel confident that your daughter is being well cared for and safe when you're not there with her.

 

[ams162]

ohhh its so frustrating isnt it, my son is 8 and i sometimes feel i am being looked at as a pain in the bum to school but at the end of the day we are doing what is best for our children all mums worry we just have added extras to worry about, my sons year are going on a residential trip next month and im worried to death about it i even cried when i spoke to the teacher about it but he really wants to go so even tho id rather he was home with me i have to let him go. you are not alone tho and u have to do what is right for ur child no matter what the nursery decides they do or do not want u to do stick to ur guns, good luck

 

[pebbles22]

Hi

I can understand why the pre school has said your not to stay anymore but I also understand how worrying it is. My son has just left pre-school but he was only there for 3 hors per day and the staff managed his diabetes very well. We had lots of communication and also had a book where everything was written down ie what time he was tested and what he had to eat and at what time. This helped me to see exactly what was going on while I was not there. Has the Diabetes nurse at the hospital given the staff a talk to emphasise how important the watching and monitoring of your little girl is. Because your daughter is not able to tell them all the time if she has a hypo they will have to test more frequently ie if she has been active or has not eaten much breakfast for example. I think initially you may have to trust them a bit more and see how it goes, I know its hard but that all we as parents can do.

regards

karen

 

[Diddydarbz]

Hi,

I am a student at Loughborough University, studying Industrial Design and Technology.

I am in my final and forth year and am just commencing my final year project.

For this I have decided to look at designing a new more child friendly Blood glucose monitor.
Something that is easy to use, understand and includes teaching the user.

My market for this device is primarily young diabetics aged 4-10 who are learning to deal with the condition and becoming independant about keeping it controlled.
enabling kids to monitor themselves whilst ensuring parents that they are doing it correctly.

i am still in the very early stages of my research and project. any feedback, suggestions and advice would be very grateful.
I know how tough the condition can be. Adults still struggle with it sometimes so im really keen to improve this all for children. Teaching them and building confidence from the start.

Many thanks.

Emma

 

[copepod]

Just picked up this thread. Laudable aim to develop child friendly blood glucose meter.

You need to break down the steps involved eg:

knowing when to test

washing hands (if required)

protection for another person involved in testing someone else's blood (may not be required, depending on presence / absence of skin wounds)

fitting test strip to meter (some come in tubs, so user doesn't have to load each strip individually)

swtiching on meter (sometimes inserting strip does this automatically, which is a good feature)

fitting lancet to finger pricking device (many people don't change lancet each time, although that is recommended)

pricking finger (relatively painful, more so than insulin injection)

obtaining sufficient blood for test (less the better)

touching blood drop to strip

waiting for result

acting on result

As you'll notice, some of those steps could be done by a very young child, while for others, particularly knowing when to test and acting on result, require much more maturity.