I help care for my older brother |
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Cassy, 12, helps care for her older brother who has muscular dystrophy. Looking after her brother means that Cassy sometimes misses school and has a lot more responsibility than friends her age. She told Newsround what's involved in being a young carer and how meeting up with other young carers helps her chill out.
"I have been helping to look after my brother for about four years. He uses a wheelchair because he has a disease called muscular dystrophy which makes his muscles waste away. Helping him out I help him out with everyday things - I get his drinks and cut up his food. I also help out with lifting and picking him up. He's getting older so it's getting harder. I'm 12 and he's 15 so he's bigger than me. When we go out, or on holiday, I automatically look out for ramps so that my brother can get around. It's something I do without thinking now. Spending time together We both go to the same school, he's two years above me. We get on well and I spend a lot of time with him. We play on our Xbox loads - mainly Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Missing school I sometimes miss out on school when my brother has to go to physiotherapy. Because my mum has to be with him, there's no one to pick me up. If something happens to my brother in the morning I am sometimes late for school as well. We get behind and leave for school later than we should. It can be quite stressful arriving at school late. Young Carers Project I go to a group called Young Carers. It's a group for young people who all help look after someone in their family. It's held at a local youth centre near me and I've been going for about three years. Quite a few of us who are young carers go to hang out there. We chill out together and head to the park or cinema. It's a good group to go to because it gets you out of the house. It really helps me to chill out." Cassy, 12, Gloucester
I help care for my dad Gemma helps care for her dad who has multiple sclerosis. In her report she tells Newsround what caring for her dad involves and why spending time with other young carers helps her to relax. "I've been helping to care for my dad for a while now. I've been giving him drinks and food ever since I was little and I started to help move him when I was about eight or nine-years-old. On a typical day I help my mum to get my dad out of bed and put him in his chair. I tidy up, give him drinks and help feed him. If it's a day when he's having a shower, I help shower him too. I wasn't taught how to do any of this - I just got on with it and copied my mum. I think this has meant that I've had to grow up faster because I've had a lot of responsibility from a young age. I don't get particularly fed-up that I have to do it or find it difficult - it's normal to me. I can't imagine not looking after my dad now. Misunderstood Some people at school know that my dad's disabled. It's hard for them to understand the responsibility I've got though - I do stuff they wouldn't normally be doing. They don't really understand it until they come around to my house and see for themselves. If my dad is ill overnight I get the next day off school because I've had to spend the night in hospital. The teachers understand but sometimes other pupils don't. In the past I've been accused of skiving, which made me feel worse. Different from friends I usually go shopping with a friend rather than my mum because we can't leave dad. We don't go out as a family that much - we can't really go to the cinema and in restaurants people sometimes stare. It's also rare that we go on holidays. Chilling out with other carers It was great to find Young Carers. It's a group for people my age who care for someone. And because everyone there knows that you care for someone, you don't have to explain yourself. You can chill out and it makes you feel like you're not the only one who's doing it. There are about 25 people in the group and I've made lots of friends. We go on day trips and weekends away. We've been to places like Butlins and Alton Towers - places I wouldn't be able to go to with my dad. Accepting difference When I was younger, I didn't want my dad to come to parents' evenings because my family were so different. But, as I've got older, I've got used to it and Young Carers has shown me that I'm not the only one who helps care for somebody. When I'm older I would like to work in either news or politics so that I can raise awareness about disability issues." Gemma, 13, Dursley
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