Introduction

Insulin is normally made by the pancreas, a gland behind the stomach. In children with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer makes enough insulin or it stops making it. Without insulin, your child's blood sugar level rises to dangerous levels. When this happens, your child needs insulin shots to keep blood sugar at a safe level.

You may be nervous giving your child a shot at first. But soon, giving the shot will become routine. It is quite easy to learn how to draw up insulin into a syringe and give the shot. The needles you use to give the insulin injections are very thin, and most children who have diabetes say that they do not even feel the needle enter the skin. Even if your child does feel the injection, the sting of the shot is not bad and does not last long. Many parents give their children shots. You can too.