Hi,
That sounds about right for a 9yr old. Type-1s can take insulin to cover carbohydrate, and although sweets are not great for anyone, there are times when us type-1s actually need sweet stuff due to hypos;low blood-sugar.
On insulin hypos are a part of life, people treat them in different ways. As sweets are the norm with most 9 yr olds, it seems reasonable that treating a hypo that way could make the child feel less deprived/different from other non-diabetic kids. I wasn't diagnosed till the age of 19, but can understand how hard it must be for a parent to motivate their child to stick to a strict regime without the child feeling hard done by and rebelling. Children are active and there will be time when having a sweet will do no harm.
I have a non-diabetic 9yr old, and it's hard enough getting him to eat healthy, and he loves his dairy milk, so it must be a real struggle with type-1 kids. We just do our best, and I'm sure the mum of the 9yr old you speak of is doing just that.
When I was diagnosed, I hadn't a clue about diabetes apart from hearing my mum talk about my older sister's friend saying she was always eating ice-lollies and sweets, and presuming this was not a good thing.
I've often been asked "you're diabetic, does that mean you can't have sugar?" The reality is that being on insulin, you are always at risk of hypos, and sugar can save our lives.
Hope that helps
Jus