Diabetes Amigo is a parent-written site for families raising kids with Type 1 Diabetes. We share what has actually helped our family day to day – devices, travel, sports, school, holidays, and the emotional load that comes with all of it.
This is first-hand experience, not medical advice. Every kid and care plan is different. Always check with your diabetes care team before changing how you manage T1D.
Why this site exists
When our kid was diagnosed about ten years ago, we went home from the hospital with a glucagon kit, a stack of pamphlets, and a phone number. What nobody handed us was the practical stuff: which bag actually holds everything, what to say at an airport checkpoint, how to keep a sensor on through a swim meet, what to do when the school nurse is covering three buildings.
The best help came from other parents who had already lived through the same mess of sites, sensors, packing lists, and 2 a.m. lows. We started writing those notes down so other families could find practical, honest answers faster – the version we wish someone had handed us in that kitchen at 11 pm.
Who writes this
We are parents, not clinicians. Nobody here is an endocrinologist, a diabetes educator, or a nurse, and we do not pretend otherwise. What we have is roughly a decade of managing Type 1 in a growing kid: injections and finger sticks, devices and adhesives, school years, sports seasons, road trips, and a lot of gear that did not work before we found the gear that did.
Most of what you will read here comes from our own household running Dexcom and Omnipod. That shapes the site: it means the device tips are specific and tested rather than generic, and it also means your mileage will vary if you are on different hardware. We try to say which is which.
How we decide what to recommend
- We write about things we have used. If a product shows up in a packing list or a gear post, it is because it earned a spot in our house, not because a brand asked.
- We say when something is a category, not a verdict. Adhesives and bags are personal. Where the honest answer is “here are the three types, pick for your kid’s skin,” we say that instead of naming a winner.
- We do not give dosing rules. Insulin amounts, correction factors, basal changes, and sick-day protocols belong to your care team. We will tell you what to ask them, never what to do instead of asking.
- We do not assume pump and CGM on day one. Most families start on shots and finger sticks. Posts that assume otherwise are useless to a newly diagnosed parent, so we try not to write them.
- We flag what varies. School rules, 504 plans, TSA procedures, and state law all differ. When something depends on where you live, we say so rather than presenting our experience as universal.
How this site is paid for
Some posts include affiliate links, mostly to Amazon. If you buy through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend, and plenty of posts here have no product links at all. Full details are on the disclosures page, and every post containing affiliate links says so at the top.
Corrections welcome
Device guidance changes, products get discontinued, and we get things wrong. If you spot something out of date or flatly incorrect, tell us and we will fix it. Get in touch.