One of the most enduring myths about carbohydrates is that they are “essential” in the diet. Even the most basic biochemistry book will tell you that dietary carbohydrate is not an essential macronutrient, unlike protein and fat. As the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states year-after-year in their Dietary Reference Intake Manual: "The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed." The key point is that you do not need to consume carbohydrates because your body can synthesize all the glucose your body needs to carry out the biological process of growth and metabolism. The liver is able to perform this function in a process known as gluconeogenesis.

Carb counting will not result in a perfect match of insulin needs, because insulin needs can be very different from day to day. You cannot look at most foods and accurately know how many grams of carbs are in the food..The math involved here and use of a calculator are almost never going to be used consistently. It is not realistic to expect kids and parent or any adult to take a scale with them wherever they go, or measuring cups. So, why don't you just suggest that lowering carb intake can make management and "the confusing math" nearly unnecessary. Also, protein converts to glucose, and fat slows absorption of carbs and deadens the effect of insulin. So, the carb absorption in Pizza and greasy Chinese food are going to behave differently than carbs in a piece of candy or a bowl of cereal. Simple starches and sugars will convert quickly to glucose. And maybe you get a nearly correct dose of rapid insulin with cereal, but try that with pizza and you may not be doing yourself any favors. Too much rapid at the front, and the hours-long digestion needs correction doses if using rapid insulin which is mostly done and gone within a couple of hours. Carb counting is a nice idea but it rarely is successfully on any consistent level. If you are eating a lot of carbs, you will need a lot of manufactured insulin which is both slow and unpredictable . The combination of high carbs and high amounts of insulin that lingers for long periods, prevents normal metabolic functions. Low glucose from excess insulin requires even more carbs to be eaten. And this is why so many T1D are overweight and becoming obese. Because of beliefs that "carb counting" and "eat whatever you like and dose for it" are actually effective and without significant errors and consequences. Don't want to mess up and don't want to become overweight, then consider not eating a lot of cereal. Also, it is one of the most fattening processed foods that exists on store shelves. Better off with proteins, natural fats and lower carb plants, than processed junk food.