ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the main challenges faced by children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and describe their coping strategies. Method: Qualitative study conducted with a semi-structured interview with children aged 8 to 11 with type 1 diabetes mellitus diagnosis who received care in the outpatient clinic of a university hospital in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The results have been analyzed and categorized as per thematic analysis. Results: Five children have participated. The reports have emerged from the systematization of the qualitative data, in a process of apprehending meaning from statements of children and adolescents, which led to the category “Living with diabetes”, including two subcategories: “Challenges to disease coping” and “Family participation and support in the disease process”. Conclusion: The process of disease coping is observed to occur differently for each child. However, family participation and support, as well as communication with health professionals, are fundamental in this process.