What Is Diabetes?

Ages 3-5 Simple Explanation

You know how when you eat food, your body turns it into energy so you can run and play? The food you eat gets turned into a kind of sugar that gives your body power, like putting gas in a car. Your body has a helper called insulin that makes sure the sugar gets to the right places.

Diabetes is when that helper — insulin — isn't working the way it should. Sometimes the body doesn't make insulin at all, and sometimes it makes insulin but the insulin doesn't work right. When that happens, the sugar from food stays in the blood instead of going where it needs to go.

A kid with diabetes needs to check how much sugar is in their blood during the day. They do this with a tiny poke on their finger or a little monitor they wear on their skin. If their sugar is too high or too low, they know what to do to fix it. Some kids take insulin through a small needle or a little pump they wear.

Kids with diabetes can still play, go to school, eat snacks, and do everything other kids do! They just need to pay extra attention to what they eat and check their blood sugar. If you have a friend with diabetes, you can be a great buddy by understanding that they sometimes need to stop and check their levels or eat a snack.

Ages 6-8 More Detail

When you eat food, your body breaks it down into a sugar called glucose, which is the fuel your body's cells use for energy. To get the glucose from your blood into your cells, your body needs a chemical called insulin. Think of insulin as a key that unlocks the door to your cells so the glucose can get in.

Diabetes is a condition where something goes wrong with this process. In Type 1 diabetes, the body stops making insulin — so there are no keys to unlock the cells. In Type 2 diabetes, the body still makes insulin, but the keys don't work very well and the cells don't open up like they should. Either way, glucose builds up in the blood instead of getting into the cells where it's needed.

Too much sugar in the blood can make a person feel really tired, thirsty, or sick. Too little sugar can make them feel shaky, dizzy, or confused. That's why people with diabetes need to check their blood sugar levels throughout the day to make sure things are in the right range.

Kids with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day because their body doesn't make its own. Some take it through shots, and some use a small pump that attaches to their body and delivers insulin throughout the day. They also need to be mindful of what they eat, because different foods affect blood sugar in different ways.

Having diabetes doesn't stop kids from doing anything they want to do. Kids with diabetes play sports, go to parties, have sleepovers, and do well in school just like everyone else. They just have a few extra things to take care of during the day. If you have a classmate with diabetes, being understanding when they need to check their blood sugar or have a snack is a really kind thing to do.

Ages 9-12 Full Explanation

Diabetes is a condition that affects how your body processes glucose — the sugar your cells use for fuel. When you eat, your digestive system breaks food down into glucose, which enters your bloodstream. Normally, your pancreas (an organ near your stomach) releases insulin, which acts like a key that lets glucose move from your blood into your cells. With diabetes, this system breaks down.

There are two main types. Type 1 diabetes usually starts in childhood or teen years. It happens when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Without insulin, glucose can't get into cells, so it builds up in the blood. People with Type 1 must take insulin every day for the rest of their lives — there's currently no way to prevent or cure it.

Type 2 diabetes is more common overall and usually develops later in life, though it can happen in kids and teens too. With Type 2, the pancreas still makes insulin, but the body's cells don't respond to it well — this is called insulin resistance. The pancreas tries to keep up by making more insulin, but eventually it can't produce enough. Type 2 can often be managed with healthy eating, exercise, and sometimes medication.

Managing diabetes is a daily job. People with diabetes check their blood sugar levels multiple times a day using a finger prick test or a continuous glucose monitor worn on the skin. If blood sugar is too high, they need insulin. If it's too low — a condition called hypoglycemia — they need to eat something sugary quickly to bring it back up. Learning to balance food, activity, and medication takes practice, but most kids with diabetes get very good at it.

If you have a classmate with diabetes, there are some things worth understanding. They might need to check their blood sugar during class or eat snacks at specific times — this isn't special treatment, it's medical management. If they seem confused, sweaty, or shaky, their blood sugar might be low, and they need sugar fast — a juice box or glucose tablets. Knowing this could genuinely help someone someday.

Living with diabetes requires extra planning, but it absolutely does not limit what a person can achieve. Professional athletes, actors, scientists, and people in every field you can think of have diabetes. With good management, people with diabetes live full, active, healthy lives. The technology keeps getting better too — modern insulin pumps and glucose monitors have made managing diabetes easier than ever before.