Summer holiday stresses for young carers in Teesside
It's estimated there's over a million young carers across the UK
Young carers in Teesside have been telling us what the summer holidays are like for them.
It can be a stressful and busy time for many as they're looking after a family member who has an illness or disability.
It's estimated there's over a million young carers across the UK.
17 year-old Amelia Howson is from Stockton and she said: "I spend a lot of my time with my little sister so I help my mum with my sister. I help with bath time because that's something my mum struggles with sometimes. I help by taking her out to go see her family and friends, taking her to the shops or I'll take her on girly days out.
"We'll spend time in the garden, I'll make little activities for us to do, or I'll play with toys with her, I'll change her nappies if need's be and really I'll make sure my mum gets enough rest and isn't in as much pain when I can.
"I don't really plan my summer holidays. I kind of just go with it so I know that I've got a lot of different groups sessions with my young carers group, or I'll try and see my friends around work but also when I go to my young carers group, I see a lot my friends there so I get to see them anyway.
"My favourite part about the summer holidays is definitely getting to spend more time with my mum and my sister because when I was in college, I'd be there until late so I didn't really see my sister because it would be bed time by the time I got home some days. I definitely enjoy going to my young carers group Eastern Ravens.
"I think that people should give some thought for young carers because it's not always easy and I know that first hand, even though it does sound like it has been this year, it hasn't been in the past, it's been quite difficult.
"I know that for a lot of young carers it's not always a positive experience. A lot of the time it's quite challenging, it's exhausting mentally and physically. I think people need to recognise how strong young carers are."
17 year-old Myles Sivewright, also from Stockton, said: "As a young carer, the summer holidays can become very full on because my sister's no longer at school, so the things her teachers would normally do for her is done by me and my family instead, so during what would be her school day, I do a lot for her because my dad's still at work.
"Despite the extra work that gets put on during the summer, I really do like the summer holidays because I get to spend more time with her because I'm not at college and she's not in school, so during the day we can spend a lot more time with each other because we don't have as much responsibility from school.
"I think my favourite part of the summer holidays is definitely getting to go away with my family because my sister gets to be a part of everything we do when we go away, as opposed to when we do something during school term times, the accessibility of the place we go to isn't necessarily good so she ends up getting excluded which we don't like.
"Keep your young carers in your thoughts and minds during this summer holidays because in the time that you get to do whatever you want without a second thought, our workload does increase because the person that we're caring for, or ourselves, are no longer in school or college."