I'm burnt out and feel forgotten as a young carer

A young carer says she feels burnt out, and forgotten about by friends as she takes on extra tasks at home.

Madeline, 16, from Bridgend, cares for her mum and granddad, a role she says she is happy to do.

But she has said people do not always understand its mental impact, and believes both formal and informal support is "crucial" to young people.

She is one of an estimated 170,000 young carers in the UK aged five to 17, but the Carers Trust calls that number the "tip of the iceberg", external.

The Welsh government said its latest strategy, which is expected to be published this month, had a particular focus on young carers and recognises their contributions.

Madeline, also known as Min, is one of 8,200 young carers in Wales. The 2021 census said there were about 120,000 young carers in England and 42,000 in Scotland.

She is still at school and hopes to be a paediatric doctor one day.

"For me, being a young carer involves helping my mum get up in the mornings, making sure my mum and my granddad have had their medication," she said.

"It also involves cooking meals for my mum, my granddad or my siblings.

"There's also the cleaning which I'll do, any household job really no matter what it is."

She said it can be difficult and often people do not understand what being a young carer entails.

"I find that my friends that aren't young carers don't tend to understand and that I can't always go out when they want or stay out to a certain time so I get kind of pushed aside and forgotten by my own friends," she added.

"Then there's the mental like side effects and stuff because obviously I'm caring about everyone else and I don't often tend to have time for myself."