Latest news with #YoungCarersActionDay
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Reading young carer on what it is like to look after her brother
Alex says the most important thing about being a young carer for her brother is developing a personal connection with him. The 16-year-old from Reading has been helping her family look after Teddy since he was a 10 years old, Teddy has been diagnosed with epilepsy, ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder and a number of learning mark Young Carers Action Day on Wednesday, Alex explained what it was like looking after her brother, while juggling life as a teenager. The annual day of recognition is a campaign run by charity Carers Trust as a way to shine a light on the care work done by children across the UK. 'It's relentless' Talking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Alex explained: "We try to help Teddy and our parents as much as we can. A lot of it is personal care."[Teddy] really likes routine, so I help in the morning before school, after school, during the night - he's not the best sleeper."In emergency situations, because he has epilepsy, he has seizures quite frequently so then it's getting in contact with the paramedics and also general household tasks like cooking, laundry, cleaning."Their mum Tamsin says school holidays prove particularly challenging, with the routine changes and her older children needing time to said: "We do have to put a lot of thinking into the holidays. I think the challenge is trying to meet everyone's needs and making sure they can get their quiet time."Both my husband and I just feel very, very fortunate to have help from the siblings, because it is relentless, it never stops." Alex says her time at school is usually her chance to have a break and she has a "really supportive" group of friends who have known her since she was six."Sometimes it takes a while to explain to them, I very rarely have people come over to my house because it can get a little chaotic and disorganised," she this, Alex believes caring for Teddy has given her useful life skills."For me the most important thing is I'm able to help my brother and really develop that personal connection with him, which I really enjoy," she explained."But also, I could probably cook a meal a lot earlier than my friends, I know how to use the washing machine, all these sort of skills will definitely help me later in life." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
12-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Young Carers Action Day 2025: What is it all about?
March 12 2025 is Young Carers Action Day, a campaign organised by the charity Carers Trust to shine a light on the care work done by hundreds of thousands of children across the charity celebrates the work of young carers every year on a date in year's theme is 'Give Me a Break', which was chosen by young carers connected with the Carers Trust say that, according to the most recent census data, at least 16,000 young carers in the UK are caring for 50 hours a week or more - some of whom are five years old. To mark Young Carers Action Day 2025, a group of young carers are taking an open top bus to Westminster - where the government works - to call for more support. What is a young carer and what do they do? Young carers are children and young people who look after loved ones with an illness or may take on adult responsibilities, for example they might need to help keep the house clean, or help family with medication and appointments. Young carers may also have to use a lot of their free time to help out at Carers Trust surveyed 423 young and adult carers, and found that almost three-quarters (72%) said they miss out on the holidays because they provide also felt they weren't able to do a lot of the things most other children get to do, with nearly half saying they miss out on friendships and young carer in the study said: "I feel bad for taking breaks and when I have time for myself I'm always thinking that I could be doing something else to help out." What support is there for young carers? Charities like the Carers Trust and The Children's Society provide support and help for young people who are carers in the UK also have a right to be given the information they need and have an assessment of their own is called a young carer assessment, or a young carer statement in Scotland. This can help decide what kind of help a young person and their family needs. Local authorities - also known as councils - are responsible for young carer assessments in lots of cases. Local authorities they are in charge of lots of things in our local areas, including things like schools, traffic and bin collections. But teachers can and schools can also provide support.
