Jun 13, 2018
Victoria Lewin is currently working on a book series for schools in the UK called, "Who Cares for Us?" She is compiling contributions from young carers and their families all over the world. It's covering young carers awareness, disability awareness, and anti-bullying awareness. The first book in the series is due to be published n 2019.
THE DEFINITION OF YOUNG CARER (from carers.org)
IS:
A young carer is someone aged 18 or under who helps look after a
relative with a disability, illness, mental health condition, or
drug or alcohol problem. If you're a young carer, you probably look
after one of your parents, or care for a brother or sister.
You can find more information about Young Carers at the Carer's
Trust website Victoria mentioned:
https://carers.org
Some things we talked about:
- Keep the dialogue open with your children so if they're having problems, you can help.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy can be very helpful if they're struggling.
- Let yourself off the hook, it's OK not to get everything done.
- It's OK not to be OK.
- Don't push yourself to do things that overwhelm you.
- Make peace with doing one thing a day if you need to.
- It's ok to allow yourself a TV day, and relax with your child when you need to.
What can a child do if they need support?
Victoria has compiled a list of resources on her website:
- https://victoria-lewin.com/where-can-i-get-support/
- Go to https://carers.org
- There are groups on social media where carers can connect together.
Are you a teacher looking for resources for children who are carers? Those resources can help you too!
The universal message in Victoria's book, Caitlyn's
Wish:
"Look for the positives in difficult situations,
overcome adversity,
don't let disability define you,
don't let things stop you
you might have to do it a different way, but keep going."
Victoria's advice to moms:
Let yourself off the hook, roll with whatever the day brings, and
make sure that your kids know how much you love and appreciate
them. And fill yourself with love.
Victoria's Superpower:
Inspire people to overcome their adversity & to make a difference
to young carers.
You can Discover Victoria Lewin:
https://victoria-lewin.com
You can purchase Victoria's book, "Caitlyn's Wish" on Amazon
QUOTES FROM VICTORIA LEWIN:
- "It's ok not to be ok"
- "It’s Caitlin’s Wish that someday all Young Carers will be treated with the respect, compassion, and understanding that they truly deserve – no matter where they live in the world."
- "Look for the positives in difficult situations,
overcome adversity,
don't let disability define you,
don't let things stop you
you might have to do it a different way, but keep going." - Victoria recounting a conversaition with a neuropsychologist, "It's the children whose parents try to shield them from everything, who end up in our chairs as adults. Because when you're trying to shield them, what you're actually doing is allowing their worries to metamorphosize into these horrific stories in their minds, when the truth is probably nothing like what they're imagining."
STATISTICS:
According to Carers Trust:
How many young carers are there in the UK?
- There are about 700,000 young carers in the UK.
That’s about one in 12 secondary aged pupils.
There are likely to be young carers in every school and college.
In the United States, the National Alliance for Caregiving did a study in 2005,(http://www.caregiving.org/data/youngcaregivers.pdf)that showed:
-
Nationwide (in the US), there are approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million child caregivers who are between the ages of 8 and 18.
What might a young carer
do? (according to https://carers.org/about-us/about-young-carers):
- Practical tasks, such as cooking, housework and shopping.
- Physical care, such as helping someone out of bed.
- Emotional support, such as talking to someone who is distressed.
- Personal care, such as helping someone dress.
- Managing the family budget and collecting prescriptions.
Helping to give medicine. - Helping someone communicate.
- Looking after brothers and sisters.
___________________________________________________
Thank you for listening. You are loved,
Jen
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--Thank you Victoria for joining me this week!--
Our music is "A New Day," by Scott Holmes
This episode is sponsored by the book, "The Sick Mom's Guide to Having Fun Again: If I can do it, you can too!" available on Amazon