Some experts think that burnout comes only to teens, and others think it occurs in time. If your child is diagnosed at a young age, is he more likely to be hit with burnout?

Issues of the Young

Young children tend not to burn out on diabetes, and that makes sense. While the idea of a life with constant intervention seems horrible to grownups, little ones don't truly understand the concept of time. Think of how your child always thinks a holiday is “tomorrow,” or asks if a week will be over in a minute. That concept of time helps her deal with the day-to-day reality of diabetes.

Little ones are pleasers; they want Mom and Dad to be happy with them. This leads many tiny kids with diabetes to take on things like finger pokes, shots, or infusion site setup help at a young age. You are their idol and their greatest love. They'll do anything to please you.

But the very young grow up, and often, years of battling diabetes in a brave and unquestionable way come to a screeching halt. For all the kids diagnosed at twelve who feel a bit overwhelmed by thirteen, by this point children diagnosed at a very young age can have as much as a decade (or more) of diabetes experience under their belt.

By the time they are teenagers, little ones often have no memory of life without diabetes. This can be stressful, leaving the child yearning for what that feeling is like. It's a hard thing for a parent to answer: What's it like not to have diabetes? It can be heartbreaking to hear, since parents often try not to remember that their child has no recall of life without diabetes. Make sure you let your child know that while he may not know that feeling now, it is your deepest hope that someday, in his future, he'll feel just that.

Older Kids

That's not to say it's easier being diagnosed at an older age. Preteens and teens are at a rough patch of life anyway. The last thing they want is to be perceived as different; the last thing they are interested in is being tethered even tighter to their parents. Yet here they are, struggling with a disease most kids have never heard of and living a life that demands constant parent intervention. Burnout can come hard and fast.

With a newly diagnosed preteen or teen, it is vitally important that you find her help and support right away. Try, as best you can, to show her that while this may change some things in her life, most will remain the same. She'll still play sports. She'll still go to school. She'll still date and get her driver's license. If she can adapt to this and be open with you about how she feels, you can help her find a way to feel at least some freedom while under your constant care.

Young or older, if your child knows that burnout happens to the best kids, he should be able to talk to you early, and in the end, perhaps you'll be able to offset some of the hard times.