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Being a young carer
Abigail
Posts: 818 Part of The Mix Family
Hi Everyone
So I am going to uses this as my first ever post on the boards because it is. I never did a Hi post.
So here it is. Hi My name is Abi I am 16 (Now) I love music, creative writing and you guessed it supporting others. currently when this is being edited I am studying music in my local college. I am a clarinet player, piano player and a singer. I love creative writing and seeing how much emotion I can put into on story also sharing what I do through a story. I have a few small fears one being FIREWORKS I am so scared of them
As some people know I am a carer (Information about it below). Also I do love supporting stranger (Sound wired ... I know right) I love helping out as and when I can both online and out and about. I don't realise how supportive I am until other say it.
The reality of being a carer.
People think that being a young carer is an easy ride but it isn't. 195,000 young people are looking after someone who are older than them. Young carers can come in lots of different shapes and sizes. some of the most common caring roles are for people with physical disabilities, other caring roles include people with mental health, post-traumatic stress and many more.
What happens to young carers at home and how does it affect them in school?
Once a young carer has woke up they will be helping the person they are looking after before themselves, once they have sorted the person you are caring for then the carer can get ready. This can result in the carer being late for school/college and can really affect their grades. Once the carer has come home its back to carering and doing household chores before they even have time to sit down and do revision/homework, this can result in homework being late. Some carers are up till late helping the person they are caring for so this can not leave much time to sleep so the only time they can sleep/rest is in school.
Also, caring for someone can put lots of stress/anger on a carer so the only time they can take there anger/stress out is when they are in school so this can make them behave different, back chatting to teachers or even getting very emotional
What young carers need in school to help support them?
Young carers find it most hard to get homework in on time and prepare for exams. Many students find it hard to participate in after school activities because they know there is someone relaying on them.
One thing a lot of carers are finding hard is trying to tell teacher that they have extra responsibilities at home, a lot of young carers are scared to speak out and say what is really going on at home and carers can hide things a lot more easier.
So in conclusion young carers find it hard to do things like homework and we hope that teachers could learn to recognise when pupils have extra responsibilities and single out the pupils who may not hand in there homework on time all the time but just for the small thing and really say to yourself 'I helped someone feel better today'
So I am going to uses this as my first ever post on the boards because it is. I never did a Hi post.
So here it is. Hi My name is Abi I am 16 (Now) I love music, creative writing and you guessed it supporting others. currently when this is being edited I am studying music in my local college. I am a clarinet player, piano player and a singer. I love creative writing and seeing how much emotion I can put into on story also sharing what I do through a story. I have a few small fears one being FIREWORKS I am so scared of them
As some people know I am a carer (Information about it below). Also I do love supporting stranger (Sound wired ... I know right) I love helping out as and when I can both online and out and about. I don't realise how supportive I am until other say it.
The reality of being a carer.
People think that being a young carer is an easy ride but it isn't. 195,000 young people are looking after someone who are older than them. Young carers can come in lots of different shapes and sizes. some of the most common caring roles are for people with physical disabilities, other caring roles include people with mental health, post-traumatic stress and many more.
What happens to young carers at home and how does it affect them in school?
Once a young carer has woke up they will be helping the person they are looking after before themselves, once they have sorted the person you are caring for then the carer can get ready. This can result in the carer being late for school/college and can really affect their grades. Once the carer has come home its back to carering and doing household chores before they even have time to sit down and do revision/homework, this can result in homework being late. Some carers are up till late helping the person they are caring for so this can not leave much time to sleep so the only time they can sleep/rest is in school.
Also, caring for someone can put lots of stress/anger on a carer so the only time they can take there anger/stress out is when they are in school so this can make them behave different, back chatting to teachers or even getting very emotional
What young carers need in school to help support them?
Young carers find it most hard to get homework in on time and prepare for exams. Many students find it hard to participate in after school activities because they know there is someone relaying on them.
One thing a lot of carers are finding hard is trying to tell teacher that they have extra responsibilities at home, a lot of young carers are scared to speak out and say what is really going on at home and carers can hide things a lot more easier.
So in conclusion young carers find it hard to do things like homework and we hope that teachers could learn to recognise when pupils have extra responsibilities and single out the pupils who may not hand in there homework on time all the time but just for the small thing and really say to yourself 'I helped someone feel better today'
Some people think I am unhappy. I'm not. I just approach silence in the world that never stops talking.
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Cause I honestly didn't realise how much hard work young carers and you do. My sister is my young career and she does nothing so i thought it was an easy ride tbh. You are a very strong person for this and it's lovely to read that you look after them but its also not cause you need to look after yourself and shouldn't have so much responsibility. And there is some support for your careers and hope you're receiving that.
I never considered myself a young carer, because even though my dad was ill, my mum was his main carer. But I have known of a few other young carers and they are so strong doing all they can to look after an ill relative, and putting others before themselves.
I definitely agree that the responsibilities of caring have a knock on effect with school work. When my mum was at work, and my younger brothers in school, I would have study leave as I was sitting GCSEs. It was difficult trying to revise sometimes as I had to keep an eye on my dad, otherwise he would go wandering (he had Alzheimer's). I tried to keep him entertained by having the TV on and staying in the room, but that meant I couldn't revise properly because it was such a distraction. Then when I was sitting my A-Level exams, even though we had carers come in for a few hours, I found myself more upset and unable to concentrate than anything.
I do think more needs to be done for schools to identify young carers and provide more support.
Hope you are getting the support you need, Abigail