Young Carers

About young carers

This section is written for and about young people who are caring.  They're usually called young carers.

Young carers are children or young people who look after someone in their family who has an illness, a disability, a mental health problem or a substance misuse problem.  They may be taking on practical and / or emotional caring responsibilities that an adult would normally do.

This section helps you find out if you're classified as a young carer.  It looks at the different things young carers have to do, and where you can get help with them.

If you're a young carer, you may be looking after relatives, including parents, brothers and sisters, or other relatives.  In each case, there may be special things you have to think about.

A young carer's extra responsibilities might include lifting someone to help them get around, helping an adult to cope with an addiction, and spending time helping a brother or sister to play.  You and your family can ask for more help if you find yourself in this situation.

As a young carer it can be difficult to know what help is available and how you can get it.  Health professionals such as GPs, or other professionals such as social workers who may visit the family home, can be a useful source of information.

Being a young carer can affect many areas of a young person’s life, including school and college.

Are you a young carer?

A young carer is someone aged 18 or under who helps to look after a relative who has a disability, illness, mental health condition, or drug or alcohol problem.

The majority of young carers look after one of their parents or a brother or sister. They do jobs in and around the home, such as cooking, cleaning, or helping someone to get dressed and move around.

Young carers may need to help a relative to deal with their feelings by talking to them, listening and trying to understand their problems.

The difference between young carers and other young people who help in the home is that young carers are often responsible for someone else in their family in a way that most other young people aren't.

Some children give a lot of physical help to a brother or sister who is disabled or ill.  If you do, you are a "sibling carer" (sibling is a word for for brother or sister).  Along with physical help for your sibling, you may also be giving emotional support to both your sibling and your parents.

A young carer might also care for a grandparent or someone else from their extended family.

For more information on sources of help, how to manage with school, family, feelings and illnesses, take a look at the NHS Choices web site, here.

Information taking from NHS Choices.