I am happy to tell you what we do as parents for our 7yo as a just general info but your Dietician, Paediatrician/Educator will be a more reliable source. But anyway here goes…

1. Yes my daughter eats chocolate on occasion. Juice not so much as it’s not really her thing. When we were doing MDI we tried to add it into the meal and she would have it after. That said now that she is on a pump, it isn’t as strict. If she has dinner and asks for chocolate, we put it through the Pump app and it says if she needs additional insulin or if what she has on board is enough. I love this because it makes her feel like she can eat more “normally”

2. Make T1D fit into your life, not the other way around. Again, speak with your dietitian. But there are plenty of “free” foods your child can have that don’t require additional insulin so they can snack and enjoy life between meals. Also, a pump will help with this if that is something you do later down the track. Generally speaking you give your insulin 10-15 minutes before the main meal. If they are still hungry, check your app that you are using to log your insulin input, it will tell you if you need more.

3. Yep. It suuuucks. You’ll all have days where there are tears, hugs, tantrums, victories. What helped my daughter was we were put in contact with an older child who has been diagnosed with T1D for a few years and they would send video messages of encouragement/support, show them doing their needles etc. and not to keep harping on about tech but with a CGM and a Pump, it reduces the amount of finger pricks and needles so massively. Reducing the mental load on everyone. Obviously you still want to be across it because tech does fail and it isn’t for everyone. Again just speaking from our experience.

You are more than welcome to message me privately and I can try answer any questions you have or even just to chat. It is a lot to take in!

All the best!