Your daily routine now includes new tasks and safety measures because you have type 1 diabetes. You can help keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible by following a routine. This means testing your blood sugar and eating at regular times. It also means consistently eating about the same amount of food every day. There is a lot to learn about this complex disease, but for now concentrate on these critical steps:

Spread carbohydrate throughout the day

Carbohydrate is the one nutrient in your diet that most affects blood sugar levels. A registered dietitian can help you learn about what foods contain carbohydrate and how to manage it in your diet. If your child has diabetes, talk with the dietitian about how to adjust meals and snacks for your child's varying appetite.

Carbohydrate counting

Using the food guide for diabetes

Take insulin

You need to take injections every day because your pancreas no longer produces insulin. Eventually, your child can learn to give an insulin injection. Talk to your doctor and your child to find out when is a good time to start teaching your child to give an insulin injection.

Preparing and giving an insulin injection

Preparing and giving an insulin injection to a child

Check your blood sugar often

Your doctor will want you to test your blood sugar level several times a day.

Home blood sugar monitoring

Home blood sugar monitoring for a child

Exercise regularly

Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. Some tips for exercising safely may help. It may also help to keep track of your exercise on an activity log(What is a PDF document?).

Encourage your child to have at least 1 hour of physical activity a day. Try to have at least 15 minutes of energetic activity during that time. Children with type 1 diabetes can participate in sports just like children without diabetes. But children who use insulin are at risk of low blood sugar. Some tips on safe exercising for your child with type 1 diabetes can help prevent low blood sugar.

Limit alcohol

In addition to exercising, it is a good idea to limit the amount of alcohol you drink. The American Diabetes Association recommends that women with diabetes have no more than one drink a day and men with diabetes have no more than two drinks a day.⁶ One drink is 12fl oz of beer, 5fl oz of wine, or 1.5fl oz liquor.

Quit smoking

Tobacco has many bad health effects, especially for people with diabetes. Having type 1 diabetes can cause a lot of problems in your body. Smoking can make many of these problems worse, especially heart and blood vessel disease. Smoking raises your cholesterol and makes it harder for your body to heal. No matter how long you've smoked, your health will improve after you quit. For help quitting, see the topic Quitting Tobacco Use.