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Leaving diabetic child home alone

C

Cathyac

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Hi there, as there has been a discussion on news this morning about leaving children at home alone I just wondered if parents of diabetic teenagers leave them at home on their own at all? My son is 11 and I don,t really leave him alone in case of hypo etc. Just wondered what the 'norm' is amongst others? Difficult really as at the moment he can still attend holiday camps when I am at work, (they are good with his diabetes) but he will be too old once he is 13.. Whats everyone else do? Thank you xxx :D
 
That's a tricky one isn't it. I think it all depends on how well the child's diabetes is controlled. I don't leave my daughter at home on her own for long periods as she's still quite young to do that. My 11 year old son doesn't have diabetes but even so I don't leave him alone for longer periods, but that's because I never have a need to. I occasionally might pop out for 10 mins to buy milk or something at the local store and leave the two children at home, but then they're always together so if something happened to Jess then my son could phone me. They both have mobile phones now and the home phone so it's easy to make a phone call either way if necessary and a couple of our neighbours are retired ladies who are at home most of the time if they needed to run next door for help. I think if circumstances were different and I had to be at work and the child had to stay at home all day or half day even, then I'd only do that if they could contact me easily if necessary and if the child's diabetes was well controlled (not having lots of hypos). Then I'd probably still phone every couple of hours to check everything is okay. But I know that I'm quite a protective parent and other parents would probably be more laid back about it all than me :)
 
Hi, I am in a similar situation to you. My daughter is due to start secondary school in September and I am already worrying how to support her. I work full time and leave the house everyday at 7.40am and don't return until 6.30pm. I know I can't leave her home alone but I don't think she will want to go to a child minder. I am considering giving up work in order to be there for her which will make things very tough for us as I am a single parent. I wish I knew what other people did?
:!:
 
my daughter was diagnosed in 2002, she is 15 now and is regularly left at home herself she knows she must check her bloods regularly and text the results to me, she has been doing this for roughly 2 years and touch wood we have not encountered any problems!
 
Hi Samb

Not all childminders look after small children, some specialise in older children and tailor things to do for them or even let them chill out watching TV. They may also have experience with diabetes. Unless your daughter needs to catch a particular school bus home because you live in a rural area, then there will probably be after school activities that she could go to. Contact your local Family Information Service (usually through your Council) as they will be able to give you details and more information.
 
Samb said:
Hi, I am in a similar situation to you. My daughter is due to start secondary school in September and I am already worrying how to support her. I work full time and leave the house everyday at 7.40am and don't return until 6.30pm. I know I can't leave her home alone but I don't think she will want to go to a child minder. I am considering giving up work in order to be there for her which will make things very tough for us as I am a single parent. I wish I knew what other people did?
:!:
Click to expand...

How will the change of school affect the times you are not with your daughter? Surely she goes to school now, and you are working?
 
I've been diabetic since I was 11 and before diagnosis my mum used to leave me and my brother (as year younger) on our own at home as long as we were together. We always had a phone number if we needed to get hold of her and neighbours who would be around in an emergency. This didn't change at all after I was diagnosed, other than my mum phoning home more frequently to ask me my blood sugar levels! I think it very much depends on the child, if they are mature enough and confident to be left at home, and their diabetes is fairly well controlled then that's fine. I was always happier when my brother was home as I knew if anything happened to me (bad hypo etc) then he would know to give me sugar and/or call someone
xx
 
Hi,

Your replies were really helpful, thank you.

My daughter is just 11yrs old now and an only child. I don't know any of our neigbours particularly well and whilst at junior school she attended a childminders before and after school and during the school holidays. She is however now protesting at having to go to a new childminders after secondary school, and is worried what her friends will think of her. She is desperate for some freedom but the truth is I am too scared to give her it. She can be quite mature in some respects but not always.

I have agreed she can walk to school alone which means she will be home alone for about half an hour in the mornings and will need to lock the house up, then do the 10 minute walk to school. She is upset that she won't just be able to go out with her friends after school on a whim as the childminder will be expecting her and would have made her dinner.

If I let her go home alone after school she would be alone for about 2-2.5hours which I am very worried about. I am also worried about people seeing a tween entering a house alone mid afternoon.

She also wants to be able to use her travel card and go off visiting friends a good bus ride away, she is not worldly and has probably only ever been on a bus twice in her life as I tend to drive everywhere.

Its so hard to know what to do for the best :roll:
 
If your daughter didn't have diabetes would you let her go off on the bus on her own etc? I know all parents are different and feel differently about how much independence they allow their children. I have a non-diabetic son who is 12. I won't leave him at home alone for a lengthy time, I also don't allow him to hop on a bus and go off by himself. It's just he way our family works and how we feel as parents. I know other families allow this and that's fine, it's just not for us as I'm not comfortable with it. Do what you feel is right, not what other families are doing. Believe me your daughter won't be the only 11 year old girl at her school who is not allowed to be at home on her own or allowed to go off on her own after school visiting friends. Some families will allow it, many others won't allow it, you won't be alone in whatever decision you make. She can still meet up with friends if you use a childminder, it just means that she'll have to be organised and arrange in advance with the friend what day she will go home with the friend so that the childminder knows not to expect her. I won't allow either of my children to go to a friend's house after school if a parent or adult is not there at their house and it has been pre-arranged. It's not that I don't trust my children, they are both responsible children who always try to do the right thing, I just feel that having them in the right environment without any temptations or unwanted influences helps them to succeed rather than setting them up to fail. With diabetes thrown into the mix it feels all the more important to have an adult around incase help is needed. But even without diabetes I still won't allow my children to be home alone on a regular basis for long periods of time or travel around on their own, not at the age of 11, maybe when they're quite a bit older but not now.
 
My daughter is 11 and i do not generally leave her at home without an adult.
I have done it once when i needed to make an emergency trip to the shop which is only 2mins away in the car but i didn't realise i needed to go until i was dishing dinner up :roll:
So i left the kids eating dinner while i dashed to the shop, i was only gone 5mins.

I would not let her return from school alone and be in the house on her own as i know that she just would not cope with it.
You have to decide what you think you and your daughter can cope with though.
 
Difficult one ... just as your child starts getting some independence, diabetes gets in the way and turns back the clock! My son is just 14 and he was very independent before diagnosis (March). He has gradually started going out on his own with friends as he used to, but he doesn't go out for more than an hour or two without getting in touch to let me know he is OK. I have left him at home for a couple of hours, and might consider letting him spend an evening home alone now as he's shown that he can manage well. Good luck with whatever you decide
 
well i'm a diabetic since i was 13 n now even after 3 years my parents don't feel comfortable leaving me alone! but i think you must let him alone if your child wishes but not for too long as it may be troublesome for him as well as worrying for you :)
 
hiya! i am 13 and attend high school, second year. my mum works when i get home from school and as it takes me half an hour to get home i am usually at home for around 1-2 hours. i sometimes go to my friend's house as long as i am home for dinner and i text my mum. i also have to text her to let her know i am home ok and to let her know if i have any plans. i think it adepends how confident your child is with their diabetes, i have had it for 9 years so i'm comfortable being alone as i can usually tell when something is wrong and know how to make it better. Also, i think it depends how comfortable you are leaving them home by themselves. hope this helped a little! x
 
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