Pre-Bolusing at the Kids Table // Raising Kids with Type 1 Diabetes (Raquel Baron, Type One Together)

Raquel Baron was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at five years old and left the hospital late to her own birthday party. Twenty-four years later, she's the founder and CEO of Type One Together, home of the T1D Babysitter List, now over 4,000 sitters nationwide who either live with type 1 or love someone who does. It started as one college student in Austin with 14 names written on a piece of paper. This week, Neil pulls up a chair at the kids table.

This one is for the T1D parents. Pre-bolusing is hard enough as an adult. Try doing it for a picky toddler who might eat all the mashed potatoes, none of them, or hit the trampoline right after dinner. Raquel breaks down why chasing one perfect dose is the trap, how to dose for the carbs you KNOW they'll eat, and why splitting the dose into little swings beats swinging for the fences. Then she gets honest about the part nobody says out loud: why telling kids to hope for a cure can quietly backfire, and what she wants every worried parent to hear from the kid who grew up on the other side of it.

In this episode:

• Why kids miss so many doses... research Neil shares shows more than 1 in 4 meals gets a late or missed bolus, and about half of snack boluses in kids never happen
• The stat that stops you cold: kids who get their boluses on time are about 24 times more likely to be in excellent control
• Raquel's "safe number" method: dose for the food you know they'll eat, keep an emergency treat in the pantry, and add insulin as the meal unfolds
• The pediatric guidelines that give parents permission to dose during or after meals for little ones... you are not failing if the 15-minute head start doesn't happen
• Handing off T1D responsibility in stages, from "press the button for me" at toddler age to the high schooler who wants the freedom
• CGM anxiety is real: why parents can't put the phone down, and the ten-minute timer trick from the Better Together community
• Diabuddies, the babysitter question every parent forgets to answer, "hope isn't a strategy," and a NEW Fastest Five Minutes world record (30 answers, sorry Natalie)

This Week's Challenge: Parents, pre-bolus for the safe number. Look at the plate, find the carbs your kid will absolutely eat, and get that insulin going. No bullseye required. Little swings win.

Learn more about Type One Together, the T1D Babysitter List, and the Better Together community: https://www.typeonetogether.com

Helpful resources and newsletter: https://yourbestt1dyear.com
Connect with Neil: TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@the.betes Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebetes Facebook: https://facebook.com/neilgreathouse LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/neil-greathouse-a607b912 Website: https://yourbestt1dyear.com
Books on Amazon: Type 1 Diabetes – One Day at a Time: https://a.co/d/6UHooWJ Type 1 Diabetes – True Stories: https://a.co/d/dfIlyI1