Young carers: who are they and why do they need support?
Young carers take on responsibilities at home that many adults would find challenging. They may help look after a parent, sibling or other family member who is ill, disabled or experiencing mental health difficulties or addiction. These responsibilities can shape a young person’s education, wellbeing and childhood. Here’s what it means to be a young carer, and how caring can affect a young person’s life.
A young carer is a child or young person aged 18 or under who helps look after a family member who is ill, disabled, experiencing mental health difficulties or struggling with drug or alcohol use. This could be a parent, sibling or another close relative.
Some children begin caring from a very young age, while others take on responsibilities suddenly because of changes at home.
Your support could help us give more young carers the childhood they deserve.
Around 1 million children and young people in the UK are estimated to be young carers.
Research shows that more than one in five children and young people may have caring responsibilities. In England alone, around 800,000 young carers aged 11-16 have been identified.
The responsibility of a young carer is wide and varied. It can include:
- Practical tasks, such as cooking, housework and shopping.
- Physical care, like helping someone out of bed.
- Emotional support, including talking to someone who is distressed.
- Personal care, such as helping someone dress.
- Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
- Helping to give medicine.
- Helping someone communicate.
- Looking after brothers and sisters.
I had lost all my friends and I was barely leaving the house. I had never felt so alone. I was going through so much at the time and I felt like I had no one to turn to. My mental health plummeted, I was in a bad place. There were times when I didn’t know if I wanted to be here anymore.
Taylor, young carer
Caring for someone can be very isolating, worrying, and stressful. For young carers, this can negatively impact their experience in education and have a lasting effect on their life chances.
Eight out of ten
One in three
23%
Another problem for young carers is recognising themselves as young carers. It’s usually only when they reach secondary school that they realise their home life is different from their friends'.
Research by Action for Children and Carers Trust found that eight out of ten young carers feel lonely during summer holidays. The research also highlighted that over a third of young carers do not look forward to summer.
Taylor shares her experience as a young carer and how Action for Children have supported her
Carers Week took place between 9-15 June 2025. The year's theme, Caring About Inequality, highlighted the challenges faced by young carers. These challenges include a greater risk of poverty, poor mental and physical health, and social isolation. We work with young carers and their families to assure them that they are not alone.
Offering regular breaks affords young carers the chance to enjoy being children for a while. We ensure that their families can access advice to ease the pressure on young carers, and our Sidekick service supports their mental health.
At Action for Children we do our best to support young carers. We want to make sure they have happy and safe childhoods.
We help nearly 3,700 children and young people who are young carers across the UK, giving them advice and respite through short breaks, activities, and the chance to connect with other young people like them.
We offer practical and emotional support to ensure they are able to enjoy their childhood.
We understand being a young carer can be very hard. That's why we're here to make things a little easier. We provide them with a chance to learn and have fun, helping them balance their caring responsibilities with being a child.
Your support could help us give more young carers the childhood they deserve.
Sidekick is an anonymous and confidential text service for young carers. It offers a chance for young carers to talk, have their questions answered or chat about worries and concerns. Young carers can text the service at any time and the team will find the answer and send a reply within 24 hours.
With many hidden young carers across the UK, Sidekick is how Action for Children is bridging the gap. The service is open to young carers across the UK – providing support beyond our existing services.
Text 07888 868 059 or visit online at sidekick.actionforchildren.org.uk
It felt euphoric – it really brought me back out of my shell. Before the young carers group, I really had no friends but now I have so many.
Taylor, young carer
The valuable work young carers do deserves recognition and support. Young carer respite services can be a lifeline, but the support currently available just isn’t enough to reach all of them in the right way.
By supporting our work, you could make sure that more young carers get the practical and emotional support they need.
Give young carers a childhood
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