A poster named Peg asked a question on one of my recent posts. She wanted to know if I had any suggestions on how to get her grandson to stop sneaking food that he wasn't supposed to have.

I don't know what kind of regimen your grandson is on, so I'm not sure exactly how much help I can be, but I'll give you suggestions for what we've done with Olivia. Maybe one of these will work with your grandson.

If your grandson is on a pump, then he can just cover for the carbs he's eaten. If the issue is that you don't want him eating these things all the time (I'm assuming he's sneaking cookies or chips or something else that's not good for him), then perhaps he can have a designated "crappy food" night. Pick one night a week - I'd do a Friday, since you'll have the weekend to get him back on track again - and let him pick out a couple of things that he really loves. He can eat them without consequences from you, but only on that one night. You could combine this a movie night or a friend sleeping over or something else that's fun for him.

If he's on multiple daily injections, he can still cover for the food eaten with humalog/novolog. If he's on NPH, it's tougher. You would have to incorporate those treats into his daily diet and that is difficult, especially if he's on a sliding scale.

What I'd try to do, though, regardless of his insulin regimen, is to get him to talk about why he wants this stuff. Explain that having diabetes doesn't mean total deprivation, but it does mean having to be more careful than the average person. Maybe you can come up with better treats for him. There are a lot of websites and cook books that have diabetes-friendly recipes. One that I use a lot is called Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. She has treat recipes on there that are better for you - although not all of them, so you do have to be careful. She's upfront when something is totally decadent and not very healthy, which is nice.

There are also a lot of good cook books that you could check for healthier snacks and treats. You can also check on the Children With Diabetes website - they have forums there and the posters there are very nice and helpful. The dLife website also has a ton of recipes that you can check out.

Thirteen is a tough age. If you can get your grandson to talk (and good luck with that one - my daughter doesn't talk much about feelings) about why he's sneaking the food, it will probably go a long way to getting him to stop or at least cut down. A frank discussion of why it's bad to sneak, especially if he's not bolusing for it, may make him think, too.

I hope some of this helped. Feel free to leave another comment if you have other questions.