“Nursing is an art that renders personal service to patients” (McLaughlin Renpenning & Taylor, 2003, p. 3), regardless of age, gender, race, culture, etc. Every day, children are diagnosed with chronic disease-causing illnesses, forcing them to mature much faster to become an active participant in the treatment and maintenance of their illness. Take diabetes mellitus for example. Children who are recently diagnosed with this disease usually adapt quickly knowing that they need to keep up with proper maintenance. They learn very quickly how they feel when they are sick and how they feel when they are well. “When [diabetes mellitus] occurs in childhood, helping children develop a sense of responsibility for self-management is a primary concern” (Dashiff, McCaleb, & Cull, 2006, p. 222). This is most successfully achieved through patient teaching at a gradual pace appropriate for the child in question. It is very important to use Dorothea Orem's self-care model so that these children are taught early on the importance of proper care and monitoring to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. A case that comes to mind is that of a 9-year-old girl. This little girl is now very aware of her illness. This young girl was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at the age of 3. Since then, she has been on a roller coaster with her illness. She has been in and out of the hospital several times over the past 6 years. Three years after her diagnosis, she suffered a major setback when she lost her mother to cancer. She has now become so aware of her body and the difference between feeling good and feeling bad, that she is afraid to go anywhere for an extended period of time without her father. He is afraid that other people won't b...... middle of paper ...... (7th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Elsevier.Blanson Henkemans, O.A., Hoondert, V., Schrama-Groot, F., Looije, R., Alpay, L.L., & Neerincx, M.A. (2012). “I just have diabetes”: Children's need for diabetes self-management support and how a social robot can meet their needs. Patient Intelligence, 51-61. http://dx.doi.org/http://dx.dol.org/10.2147/PI.53847 Dashiff, C. J., McCaleb, A., & Cull, V. (2006, June). Self-care of young adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 21, 222-232. http://dx.doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2005.07.013McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2011). Theoretical foundations for nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.McLaughlin Renpenning, K. and Taylor, S.G. (Eds.). (2003). Self-care theory in nursing: Selected articles by Dorothea Orem. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.