Your Child’s Insulin Dose

Use the formulas in this handout to find out how much insulin to give to your child. It might look confusing at first. The diabetes team will go over it with you to make sure it makes sense.

Your Child’s Target Blood Sugar

Your child’s target is the goal for their blood sugar.

Your child’s target is _____________ mg/dl.

Your Child’s Correction Factor (Insulin Sensitivity Factor)

The correction factor is how much 1 unit of insulin will lower your child’s blood sugar level.

If you give your child 1 unit of rapid-acting insulin (insulin lispro, insulin aspart, etc.), your child’s blood sugar should go down by  ______________mg/dl.

Your child’s correction factor is ______________.

Your Child’s Carbohydrate Ratio

The carbohydrate (carb) ratio is the number of grams of carb covered by each unit of insulin.

For every  __________ grams of carbs your child eats, give your child 1 unit of rapid-acting insulin (insulin lispro, insulin aspart, etc).

Your child’s carb ratio is _________________.

Finding Out (Calculating) Your Child’s Insulin Dose

Step 1

• Find out your child’s blood sugar right now. Write it down.

• Subtract your child’s Target Blood Sugar (from page 1).

• This will give you the number (amount) you want to lower your child’s blood sugar level (to get to target). This is your Step 1 answer.

____________ - ________________       =                                                    mg/dl

(Blood sugar now)                    (Target)                                 (Points above your child’s target)

Step 2

• Divide the answer to step 1 (points above your child’s target) by your child’s correction factor (from page 1) to get the total correction dose.

Step 3

Divide the grams of carbohydrates that your child is eating by their carbohydrate ratio (from page 1).

___________________÷ _________________      =      _______________________

(Grams of carbs eating)          (Your child’s carb ratio)                       (Carb coverage dose) 

Step 4

Add the answer to Step 2 (correction dose) to the answer to Step 3 (carb coverage dose) to get the total amount of insulin your child needs right now.

________________     +   ________________    =    ____________________ units           

 (Correction dose)                    (Carb coverage)                (Insulin your child needs now)

Important:

• Wait 3 hours between correction doses to prevent “stacking of insulin” (taking too much).

• Always cover all meals and snacks with insulin unless your diabetes team gives you other instructions.

• As your child grows, their correction factor and carbohydrate to insulin ratio will change.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call The Pediatric Diabetes Center at 212-263-9910 to speak to your diabetes team.

Created in partnership with families and expertise from our Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care.

©2024 NYU Langone Health. All rights reserved. Reviewed for health literacy. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your health care provider's instructions.