It can be easy to take being fit and healthy for granted, especially when you are still young. But being a young carer can have a big impact on your health. Young carers are seven times more likely to say they are ill than children who don’t look after someone, and up to 1 in 5 say that they are not currently in good health. [1] You therefore might need to go to more effort than other people your age to try and stay healthy.
However, it can be hard to find time to look after yourself on top of everything else like caring for someone, going to school and having fun. You may also feel resentful if you have less help with caring for yourself from the adults around you than your friends do.
But it is vital that you do try and look after yourself. Remember that you are just as important as the person you are caring for, and you also deserve to have some time that you can spend on yourself. You need to get a balance between looking after someone else and looking after you too.
It is also important for the person you care for as well. They rely on you being well enough to help them and they might struggle if you get ill. It will also probably make them happy to think that you are looking after yourself and staying healthy.
We can help
To make looking after yourself as easy as possible, we have provided some advice and guidance on ways you can stay well as a young carer, how you can get a break, how to manage the difficult emotions that being a young carer can bring, as well as how to get help from your school or college.
Online Help and Advice
Visit our online support section where we have provided advice and guidance on a range of relevant topics to help you in your caring role.