LOST childhoods is how the Carers Association describes the fate of a significant number of children in this country, forced to care for sick or invalided parents on a regular basis. The extent of the problem has yet to be quantified in Ireland but in Britain it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 young carers - that is children under 18 whose lives are restricted because of the need to care for someone who is ill, has a disability, is experiencing mental distress or is affected by substance abuse or HIV/AIDS.
In Ireland the Carers Association, the national voluntary body which represents carers in the home, is undertaking a project to identify, make contact, and support young carers. "A great problem for us is that young carers are often unwilling to be identified since they fear that the family will be split up and that they will be taken into care and their parents institutionalised," explains the association's client services manager Eamonn Hackett.
But this project is entirely confidential, he says. "We are simply trying to make contact with young carers in order to identify their needs as a group and to examine how we can best help them. No names will be used in our report - only the general needs of the group will be publicised."
In Britain, a recent study showed 80 per cent of young carers are of compulsory school age and the average age of young carers is 12 years. Almost two thirds of young carers are girls and most of these youngsters live in single parent families. Well over half of all care recipients have physical health problems while almost one third suffer mental health problems including alcohol and drug abuse.
The main tasks of the young carers include cooking, cleaning, assisting with mobility, giving medication, bathing, toileting, giving emotional support and caring for siblings. Many youngsters say they feel resentful that unlike their peers they are forced to do these jobs and have no choice in the matter.
According to Eamonn Hackett there are a number of tell tale signs that teachers can look out for in order to identify young carers. These include missing school or regularly arriving late with no plausible excuse, lack of concentration - the children are often tired or are worrying about their parents and being unable to partake in school outings or extra curricular activities.
Hackett says the association is aware that some children have to rush home at lunch time to prepare meals for sick parents, while other children regularly leave home at weekends to care for their grandparents.
A major problem for young carers is that they lose out on their education. The British study shows that almost half of young carers in the 11 to 15 year old age group experience educational difficulties.
"These young people can miss out on career opportunities or be unable to go on to further education because of their caring responsibilities," says Hackett. Being a young carer can also cause physical and mental health problems brought on by the need to lift adults, disturbed sleep patterns, worry about their parents' conditions or the emotional strains of coping, he says. Young carers too, can suffer social isolation since unlike their peers they are unable to, enjoy a social life, or they may, because of their homelife, suffer social stigma.
Hackett is hoping that teachers, social workers and public health nurses will contact the project with information on youngsters who are caring for family members. "We're not planning to turn up on doorsteps unannounced," he say. "It's important that we get the parents' permission for their children to speak to us. We're hoping that people like the teachers and social workers will be able to make the connection with us."
However, gaining parental permission is likely to prove difficult. In many cases parents fail to recognise the extent and quality of the caring undertaken by their offspring, preferring to believe that their lack of mobility is less than it really is and that they themselves are well able to cope.
Once the report has been compiled the Carers Association intends to lobby to develop services. "At the moment there's no official recognition of young carers and no financial assistance for anyone under the age of 18 who is involved in full time caring," Hackett says.
