What about the Parents!?

Often, parenting children with diabetes can be frightening and lonely, and few understand this better than Jeff and Natalie Kolok. With two type 1 children of their own, Jeff and Natalie sought to help other such parents overcome the isolation they often felt by providing them an online community. The result: www.parentingdiabetickids.com. Founded in 2007 and recently expanded, this website offers a number of helpful resources, including a forum in which visitors can reach out and learn from others in nearly 190 different topic rooms (covering subjects from school to travel to insulin pumping); a news page that breaks down relevant diabetes developments for even the most scientifically disinclined; and a resource page that provides lists and descriptions of valuable type 1 diabetes-related books, websites, magazines, tips, and camps. We were also impressed by the "ask our team" page of the website, which allows visitors to ask questions and receive answers from the site's team of diabetes management experts, including one of our favorite diabetes educators and regular diaTribe contributor Gary Scheiner. While the site is still growing, with just over 700 members, we liked its overall warmth and community-like feel, as well as its simplicity and ease of use.  --BK