A young carer or young caregiver is a child or young person (up to the age of 18 or in some programs 25) whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or a long-term illness.
The person they care for may be a parent, a sibling, another family member or a friend, but does not necessarily live in the same house as them. The care they give may be practical, physical, and emotional.
The terms "disability" and "long-term illness" do not mean just a physical disability or illness, but also cover, for example, mental illness, learning disability, or drug addiction, frailty or old age.
Famous quotes containing the word young:
“When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, be they ever so poor, or ever so imprudent, or ever so little likely to be necessary to each other’s comfort.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)