Aug 10
4
Family and Diabetes
What is a Family and Are We One?
by Russell Turner
The most important institution in society today is the family. The most underestimated institution today in terms of importance is the family. If you go to a book store and walk down the “family” aisle a great majority of the books are written with the assumption that the idea of family is an old fashioned notion whose time has come and gone.
When you look at some of the trends in society these days it’s almost understandable why some people would think this way. Consider how our growing over-dependence on other institutions tends to undermine the family.
The public schools teach our children all kinds of things that have nothing to do with reading writing and arithmetic. Even parents who try to become involved usually have very little say in the process. Any religious education has been turned over to the church with parents taking less and less responsibility. We often look to government to provide services which have traditionally been provided by the family.
All of these things together tend to blind us to the real importance of the family in our world. I believe school, community support, and government can be allies of the family, but they can never be substitutes for it. The family is a universal necessity. It is the institution which prepares our children for life.
If you had to fill in the blank: “A family is _______” you would need a pretty big blank. You have the “traditional family”, papa bear, mama bear and all the baby bears. You have the “single parent” family, in my case papa bear and all the little baby bears but more often its mama bear. Then you have the “blended” family that creates the “yours”, “mine”, and “ours” family which is the most confusing type of family of all. Of course you can’t forget the “part time” family of the parent who has custody of the children on weekends. Even though the part time family’s time together may be somewhat limited this parent wants to accomplish good just as much as any other type of “family”
A family is a place to grow people. Just like the ecological balance needed to grow plants children need the same kind of balanced family environment in which to develop. A proper blending of the roles of father and mother is required. We need a balance between dependence and independence, freedom and responsibility. A family takes energy, interest, commitment, love, and a lot of hard work. When all of this is in place a child’s body develops, then the mind grows, they develop socially, then spiritually. This is the kind of balanced development we all want for our children. This is the climate necessary for healthy growth.
A family is a place for developing creativity. Self-trust which is the mother of all creativity is first nurtured in the family. The family provides the ground where individual gifts and interests are encouraged to develop and mature. It is within the family that the discipline is developed that frees our children to be truly creative
A family is a place of safety and security. When everything else in our lives turns to mud, or the doctor tells you “your child has diabetes”, the family not only provides us with shelter, love and protection from these storms, the family can actually draw closer together in the process of providing security for each other. Our children need to feel the hands and arms of those who love them and hear the soothing words of parents who care when storms come up in their lives.
Such as family hardships and diagnosis of a disease(s). If a child is diagnosed with diabetes, that will definitely take a toll on the family and they will all have to learn and change habits and their routine. Everyone will have to know how to deal with the disease, what to do when the child is acting different besides regular moodiness, being cranky, hungry, or tired. Hence forth, those issues might have to do with the child’s blood sugar whether it be high, low, or in good range. Each member of the family will need to know how to treat the child, what questions to ask, and make that child(s) their main responsibility over anything else. Possibly even get people in the family, not just the immediate family, involved. Let them know what to do, what to expect, and how they can help. Especially if you work a lot and have busy lifestyles, you may have to get involved with the community and see if friends will help and see if they have knowledge or experience with diabetes. Check the town if they have support groups or diabetic professionals who can give you support with managing diabetes. It’s a group effort and a huge responsibility that can be made more simply if many people are willing and able to help. It’s a stressful time, of course, but it takes more than one person to not carry the burden of all the stress. Find out everything there is to know about the disease and what to do in all situations and circumstances to make the child’s life as manageable and livable as possible.
A family is a lot of things. One of the things it is not is out-dated or unnecessary. Our children need strong families to help them develop their full potential. It is our responsibility as parents to see that this is done. We know there are a lot of different kinds of “families”. Which ever kind you are it’s a rewarding experience filled with love and togetherness. Which ever kind of “family” our children end up with, the model they will take with them is what we teach them today.