Support for young carers

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There is widespread agreement that children should not be undertaking regular and substantial caring responsibilities or unsuitable personal care tasks. Local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that the person needing care has appropriate services and this should include help with parenting tasks. There is evidence, however, of large numbers of young carers. In the 2001 Census, 175,000 children and young people in the UK were identified as carers. The average age of young carers supported by projects in the UK is just 12 years.
Apparent maturity
Practitioners should be aware that young carers, having taken on roles beyond their years, can present as more mature than they really are. The impact of caring on the young person could be influenced by family circumstances, the age of the young carer, the amount and type of care given and, crucially, whether the cared-for person has adequate statutory or other sources of support. Becker and Dearden(1) offer an analysis of the number of hours spent caring by children of different ages. Findings indicate that 84% of young carers provide 1 to 19 hours of care per week, 9% provide 20 to 49 hours and 7% provide more than 50 hours.
Current legislation recognises that, while support must be offered to the cared-for person, young people may continue to play a caring role that can have a detrimental effect on them. Even when the care provided is adequate, children may be affected in other ways - for example, by feeling guilty about leaving their parent alone or worrying about their parent's welfare or financial concerns.