Parents of children diagnosed with diabetes struggle to teach the importance of self-care and testing. Young children have a hard time sticking to a regular schedule, let alone tackling the added requirements of daily testing and insulin injections.
For those who are having trouble keeping kids on task, there may be a helpful option.
Keeping Pet Fish
The set schedule of taking care of a pet fish may help children to also keep up with their regular diabetes self-care. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern created a pilot program in 2015 to assess the effects of a behavioral intervention on children with Type I diabetes.
Twenty-eight children and teenagers between the ages of 10 to 17 years old participated in the program. About half of the participants received a fish bowl, supplies, and a gift card to purchase a pet fish. The participants were also given self-care instructions to complete during daily pet care tasks.
The children were instructed to set up the fish bowl in their rooms, if possible. They were also asked to test their blood glucose after 
feeding the fish twice daily and to review their glucose logs with a caregiver once weekly while changing out part of the water in their fish’s bowl.
Associating a daily pet care task with their diabetes self-care helped the participants to lower their HbA1c level by 0.5% after 3 months. The behavioral intervention worked best with children ages 10 to 13 years old, who experience a 1.5% HbA1c reduction.
Other Benefits of Owning Pets
Parents may also find that there are plusses to owning other kinds of pets such as dogs. These loveable creatures need a lot of exercises, which are helpful for diabetics. Children who go on daily walks with their pets may have better glucose sensitivity than those who don’t join in.
A pet of any type can also provide an emotional release valve for young people going through difficult times. Children can love, play with, and talk to pets endlessly without rejection. This is so important for any child, particularly those who are learning to manage their diabetes.
[expand title=”References“]
Pet Ownership May Improve Diabetes Self-Care In Adolescents. URL Link. Accessed March 31, 2017.
Everyday Health. URL Link. Accessed March 31, 2017.
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