Young Carers

What is a Young Carer?

A young carer is someone under 18 who helps look after someone in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled, has a mental health condition or misuses drugs or alcohol.

What might a young carer do?

  • Practical tasks, such as cooking, housework and shopping.
  • Physical care, such as helping someone out of bed.
  • Emotional support, such as talking to someone who is distressed.
  • Personal care, such as washing someone or helping someone dress.
  • Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
  • Helping to give medicine.
  • Helping someone communicate.
  • Looking after brothers and sisters.

Being a young carer can have a big impact on the things that are important to growing up

  • Young carers will often need to miss school due to their caring role
  • Many young carers struggle to juggle their education and caring which can cause pressure and stress
  • In a survey, 39% said that nobody in their school was aware of their caring role
  • 26% have been bullied at school because of their caring role
  • It can affect a young person’s health, social life and self-confidence with young carers twice as likely to suffer from poor mental health than their peers and many young carers reporting to feel isolated
  • Young carers often can’t take up extracurricular and enrichment activities because of their caring role.