Parental Empowerment & Family Resilience

Supporting parents in navigating the complex emotional and logistical landscape of raising a child with diabetes.

 

The Psychological Health of the Caregiver

• Deconstructing Parental Guilt: Identifying and neutralizing the "blame narrative" to resolve deep-seated feelings of guilt and shame regarding the diagnosis.
• Cognitive Reframing: Transforming negative thought patterns into a proactive, resilient mindset to prevent caregiver burnout.
• Trauma-Informed Coping: Utilizing specialized clinical tools to manage the chronic stress, medical trauma, and daily frustrations unique to the T1D journey.
• The Self-Care Imperative: Establishing sustainable self-care protocols as a clinical necessity, not a luxury, to ensure long-term family stability.

 

Adaptive Parenting & Family Dynamics

• Evolution of the Parental Role: Identifying and processing the shift in your identity from "parent" to "medical manager," and finding a healthy balance between the two.
• Proactive Emotional Response: Training in how to de-escalate and respond effectively to a child’s emotional "diabetes burnout" and mood shifts.
• The Power of "Yes" and "No": Mastering the art of setting firm boundaries while allowing for the autonomy and flexibility your child needs to grow.
• Synchronized Family Communication: Building high-level communication skills to ensure the entire family remains a cohesive, supportive unit.

 

Clinical Advocacy & Real-World Management

• Strategic School Advocacy: Expert guidance on navigating the healthcare and educational systems to secure your child’s rights and safety at school.
• The "Ideal vs. Realistic" Paradigm: Transitioning from rigid, idealistic insulin/food management to a "Real-World" approach that prioritizes both blood sugar stability and quality of life.
• Collaborative Meal Planning: Designing flexible, child-centered nutrition plans that reduce mealtime power struggles and foster a healthy relationship with food.

 

Risk Mitigation & Future Planning

• Clinical Literacy: Deepening your understanding of the physiological impacts of diabetes management to move from a place of fear to a place of informed action.
• Systemic Stress Management: Implementing evidence-based strategies to reduce the "background noise" of stress within the diabetic household.

 

Parenting Children with Diabetes (Hardcover & e-Book)

If you are the parent of a child living with diabetes, life can be problematic, to say the least. My new book was designed to help parents manage the trials and tribulations of raising a child with diabetes. http://bit.ly/Parenting_CWD

 

Parenting Children with Diabetes, published by Rowman & Littlefield, offers parents a 360-degree view of what is happening to their child living with diabetes, providing unique tools, insight, and education to help parents and their children navigate diabetes management, communicate clearly and effectively, and live safely and healthfully.