Caring can have an impact on the quality of the young carer's childhood and can also affect future opportunities. They may be worried about being taken into care and may not seek help.
You may be able to help by:
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carrying out an assessment
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talking to the young carer
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helping the whole family
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contacting the school
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discussing health issues with the young carer.
Assessments
You may be able to find out what level of care is being provided by a young carer if you amend your assessment procedures to include some quick, simple questions for the person being cared for:
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Who helps care for you at home?
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Do you have children?
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Do you need more support as a parent?
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Do you know how your children feel about your illness?
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How much do they help out?
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Do your children need more support?
Talking to young carers
Speak to the young person in private and explain the confidentiality rules you operate within. Listen carefully and accept the child's experience. It is important to be sensitive to the fact that many young people do not want to be labelled as a 'young carer', or singled out as different.
Young carers are likely to feel more secure if they can get to know one person that they can trust. Also, a small amount of relevant information is better than too much information.
Establish what caring tasks they are performing and why. Find out how their caring role affects them:
Think about how you can help with these issues.
Helping the whole family
With the young person's permission, speak to their parent(s) about their caring role. Are there other forms of support open to the family? Few parents choose a caring role for their child. Many feel very guilty about the effect their illness has on their child.
Explain to parents and children that they may be both entitled to an assessment of their needs from Social Services. Young carers who are 16 or over are entitled to Carer's Assessment, but some Local Authorities will also assess younger carers.
Help the family contact the nearest Young Carers Project or other agencies if they want you to. You can find out about Young Carers Projects at www.youngcarers.net
School
You might consider contacting the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) at the young person's school if there are particular problems, for example if they are being bullied, having difficulty with homework or they are unhappy or stressed.
Health issues
Young carers can feel stressed if they do not know much about their relative's health problems. Try to encourage the person who is being care for to let you explain their health condition to their children. Some of the questions young carers may have include:
- Can I catch it or will it happen to me?
- What caused it? Why us? Is it my fault?
- Can I do anything to make the person better?
- Will the person I look after get worse or die?
- What should I do in an emergency?
Further information
For further information, download the Young Carers Guide.
