Every Easter Sunday morning nine-year-old Aaron and 10-year-old Andrew are given a map to find their hidden Easter eggs. "That can take a while and they are running around and they can eat a bit of chocolate as they are going along," says their mother, Yvonne Abbott.

The boys' Easter eggs are not gorged in the one day, never mind before lunchtime, unlike in other houses. They tend to last for weeks, says Yvonne, because of the fact that Aaron should only have chocolate after meals or, maybe, incorporated with fruit at snack time.

Aaron has diabetes. However, this does not mean he is confined to diabetic chocolate or diabetic Easter eggs - Yvonne prefers to give him normal chocolate, where possible. Diabetic chocolate or Easter eggs contain sucrose, an artificial sugar. Too much of that can give you diarrhoea, she says.

Another reason to keep Aaron away from diabetic chocolate is that it also tends to be slightly higher in fat, and people with diabetes must take as low a fat intake as possible.

Yvonne has checked this information with a dietician who encourages the idea that diabetic children should be involved in the selection of the eggs. The dietician likened it to an adult going for a meal - reading the menu is all part of the enjoyment of having the meal.

"So, if a child is taken to a supermarket and allowed to pick out an Easter egg, it includes them in the process. They are not something separate, it's just to make it all very normal," says Yvonne. Younger diabetic children are encouraged to get little eggs with fluffy bunny toys rather than a massive egg.

It is more than likely that diabetic children across the country were given Easter eggs made from diabetic chocolate this Easter, and that should not be seen as a problem.

"If he gets one, I certainly will not prevent him from having it, but I certainly would say, if family or friends are buying him one, that one of the other chocolate Easter eggs would be fine," says Yvonne.

Aaron's 10-year-old brother, Andrew, is very considerate, says Yvonne. "While I would try to balance his and Aaron's requirements, Andrew is very sweet and will not just pig out in front of his brother. If Aaron's gone out, well then yes, there is no problem and he can eat whatever he wants."

However, she is conscious that chocolate is not healthy for any child. Andrew's fear of dentists also helps the situation - he knows too much chocolate could mean a trip to the dentist.

All of Aaron's friends and schoolfriends are very aware of Aaron's diabetes and the fact that if his blood sugar is low he feels very weak.

"The more his friends are tuned into this fact, the better, because they know that he really needs to get some glucose into him fairly quickly. They are great, they are very understanding."

Aaron has juvenile diabetes and has to take two injections of insulin, one in the morning and one at tea-time. His pancreas no longer produces insulin and he has to administer artificial insulin, hence the injections.

There is another type of diabetes which can be managed by diet and tablets, and people often get the two confused, says Yvonne. "Diabetes is a juggling act and certain things can affect the normal routine of food intake."

Monday to Thursday, all the children in Aaron's school have to have health food for their snack.

Anything deemed inappropriate is confiscated. "Friday is a sweet day and I allow him to take a small chocolate bar or something which, when he takes it with the rest of his snack, like fruit or milk or a sandwich, doesn't shoot his blood sugar sky high.

"In other words, he is just like the other kids, but he knows himself, and they know, that he can't sit down to a bag full of penny sweets."