Hi all, I recently got a job as a nanny for a 9 year old and a 13 year old. The 9 year old was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about a year and a half ago. She can give her own shots and everything but I just have a small question. If I were to give her a piece of gum, a tic-tac, or any other small piece of candy like that would she need to check her blood sugar level? or would it not affect anything because it's so small? Would it be best just not to offer any candy to her or her brother? Any other tips would be helpful...thank you.
Hi, Annalee. Probably there are not enough carbs in a stick of gum or a couple of tic-tacs to make a big difference in the child's blood sugar levels. Other candies contain more carbs, so they would probably make a bigger difference.Have you asked the parents? I wouldn't give her gum or candy without checking with them first. They may object depending on how closely they, or the child, monitor her diet, insulin and blood sugar levels.
There are sugar-free gums. Those would probably be a better choice to give the child than regular gum. The good thing about sugar-free gum is that you can give it to both the child with diabetes and her brother. It's hard for most children to accept being treated differently when they have diabetes. So giving them the same kind of gum (sugar-free) would be best.
Good luck!
Scrappy