Posted by Lucille Radley on January 05, 1999 at 10:10:24:
In Reply to: Diabetics Need Help With Illegal Drugs posted by Sandy Donchess on January 04, 1999 at 22:17:45:
Sandra,
Having lived through my daughter's teen years as a diabetic and now starting the trek with our two boys who also have diabetes, I can only congradulate these people for being "REALISTIC" You can't stop the kids from being stupid, inquisitive, braver than smart, caving in to peer pressure, using booze and drugs to get back at you, etc... so you might as well teach them what they need to know to come out of it alive. I know I'm going to ruffle a lot of feathers but we have to be honest here. Our kids are not being raised in a glass bottle and they do have diabetes. They might drink before they are mature enough to do it responsibly and they might dabble in drugs before they realise it's a no win situation. I don't condon their actions, I just like to have them know the facts and how to do it safely. Having a "hypo wise buddy" is good advice too. A DM designated driver if you like. Can you imagine your teen being put in the slammer to sober up overnight when really he/she is having a hypo? These thoughts kept me awake many nights and if it wasn't for Miss Clairol, I'd be sporting a head of "teen raising related" white hair. Luckily we (daughter and us) came out of it OK but if it weren't for our endo's insight in to raising teens, I'm not so sure how well we would have done. The minor bumps in the road we encountered could have been major problems with life long consequences.
We all want our teens to be perfect, not drink, stay away from drugs, not smoke, abstain from sex, etc... but it's not always possible. You give them the tools and teach them how to use them but ultimately, it's their decision as to how they use them. Scary but true.