Young Carers Under 11 Years Old

There are lots of children in our country who are Young Carers. Some children who are 5 years old are Young Carers.

Becca gets help from a place for Young Carers near where she lives. There are places Young Carers can get help here in Derbyshire too. Read the 'Where can Young Carers like me get help?' bit below.

You can also watch more videos of more Young Carers telling their stories - click here

If you are a Young Carer then you need to know that you can get some help.

You might not mind heping the person you care for. But it is important that you don't miss out on too many things because you are too busy being a Young Carer. This could be:

• missing school
• not being able to play out or seeing friends
• not seeing other people in your family as much as you want to 
• not getting to do things you like doing.

You need to have chance to do things children your age enjoy doing. And it's really important you are able to go to school and learn - even if you don't always like it!

Being a Young Carer can make you feel sad and upset sometimes. It's okay to feel like this, but you should talk to someone if you feel sad a lot of the time.

There are people and places who can help you and your family to make things a bit easier for you. 

But if you are under 11 it's better for you to talk to a grown up you know first. You can ask the grown up to try get some help for you. 

You can show the grown up this list of places and services that can help: click here

You can ask the grown up to ring them for you. There is a list of grown ups you can talk to below.

 The workers at the services who help Young Carers might be able to:

• take you to meet other children who are Young Carers
• help you with school
• give you someone to talk to
• help you say what you want to say. Some Young Carers find it hard to say how they feel
• take you to do fun things and activities
• get you help to do some of the jobs you do at home so you don't have to do so much. 

You could talk to:

• Your mum or dad
• Your older brother, sister or cousin
• An older person in your family or a family friend who you know well
• Your teacher
• Your school nurse - all schools have nurses, you just need to ask to see them
• If you have a social worker you can talk to them or another worker who comes to see you.

Feeling worried or sad

If you feel worried or sad you should talk to someone. You could talk to a grown up family member or a teacher at school.

You could feel:

• worried about someone or something
• worried about what is going to happen
• sad because you miss out on things because you have to help at home
• sad because you don't get to see your friends or you don't have many friends.

It's okay to feel sad or worried. Lots of Young Carers feel sad sometimes but if you talk to a grown up you will probably feel better afterwards. They might be able help you.

If you don't want to talk to someone you know you can ring a place called Childline. The phone number is below. 

Being Bullied

Being bullied could be:

• other children being mean or calling you names
• other children hitting you or hurting you
• other children leaving you out on purpose. This could be not letting you play a game at school.

If you are being bullied or you feel sad you need to tell a grown up so they can make it stop. Like a teacher or your mum or dad. If you really don't want to tell someone you know you can ring Childline. Their phone number is below.

Some Young Carers are bullied because other children think they are different. They might think a Young Carer is different because they have to do things at home. Or because they can't play out because they have got to stay at home to help.

If you are being bullied or you just feel sad you can phone Childline. 

You can talk to someone on Childline who will listen to you. They may be able to give you advice and get you help if you want it.

It doesn't cost any money to ring Childline and they won't tell anyone one that you have rung them. 

Their phone number is: 0800 1111.