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 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 a parents, caring for a brother or sister, 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. For further information about the different people who can help young carers, see Who can help?.
Being a young carer can affect many areas of a young person’s life, including school and college, socialising and how you may feel about being a young carer.
You can watch the video below to find out how other young carers cope with school and how they chill out.