Young Carers: Challenging the facts and politics of research into children and caring

Abstract

This paper critically reviews existing research on young carers. I argue that our know ledge of what young carers do and how they differ from other children, is extrem ely limited. W ithout this inform ation, practice recommendations will be based on guesswork and prejudice. I argu e that the existing literature pays lip service to the support, or lack of it, that disabled people need to empow er them as parents. In this context, I also review research into the relationship between disability and parenting. Research has tended to involve the search for the negative impact of an adult' s disability on a child' s growth, intelligence and adjustment. This has therefore told us little about how parental disability affects the dom estic and caring tasks of children. There is a conceptual hole in the middle of our existing awareness about caring and childhood, with which future research must attempt to grapple.

Global Perspectives on Children’s Unpaid Caregiving in the Family

“…Despite assertions by some UK commentators that there are no scientifically 'proven' differences between what young carers do within the family compared with other groups of children (Newman, 2002;Olsen, 1996;Olsen and Parker, 1997;Parker and Olsen, 1995) there is now research evidence from all three developed countries and from sub-Saharan Africa which shows that young carers do differ from other (randomly selected) children in both developed and developing countries, and across cultures. The differences centre on the extent of their caregiving, its nature, the time involved and the outcomes for children's development, social and economic participation.…”

“…UK policy makers, particularly those in the Children's Society (Frank, 2002), the Princess Royal Trust for Carers and the Disabled Parent's Network have played a major role in developing the model for this holistic approach to service delivery, and this is largely a response to criticisms made by some UK researchers and disabled people themselves of existing young carers services (Keith and Morris, 1995;Newman, 2002;Olsen, 1996;Wates, 2002).…”

Using Identity and Recognition as a Framework to Understand and Promote the Resilience of Caregiving Children in Western Kenya

“…In the introduction, we highlighted a concern by Olsen (1996) that the literature on caregiving children in Anglophone contexts is predominantly represented in negative terms, a concern others have also more recently recognised (Aldridge, 2008;Skovdal, 2010b). For Taylor (1992) such victimisation can be a form of misrecognition because it shrinks or distorts the children's social reality to a reality objectified by social services and care workers (in an Anglophone context), international aid agencies (African context), researchers and policy-makers.…”

Daughters of Mothers With Multiple Sclerosis: Their Experiences of Play

“…Numerous researchers have examined the experiences of young caregivers (e.g., Aldridge & Becker, 1999;Antoun & Frank, 2003;Arnaud, 1959;Banks et al, 2001;De Judicibus & McCabe, 2004;Frank, 2002;Lackey & Gates, 2001;Olsen, 1996;Packenham & Bursnall, 2006;Power, 1977;Thomas et al, 2003;Warren, 2007), but few have specifically examined the intersection of their experiences as caregivers of mothers with MS and play. Given the importance of play, the purpose of this study was to describe how daughters who are caregivers to their mothers with multiple sclerosis experienced play.…”