*American Association of Caregiving Youth: Service Hour Pilot Program Click Here

"There Are More Than 1.4 Million Kids in the United States Who Live With, and Help Provide Daily Care for Household Members With a Physical or Mental Illness, Disability, or Frailty Associated With Aging, Disease, or Other Condition.​ ​

1.4 million is more than the total student population in New York City, Chicago, and D.C. combined. Evenly divided between girls and boys, about one-third are ages 8-11, and nearly 40 percent are ages 12-15.
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​Caregiving impacts children’s lives - both positively and negatively, they have different life experiences than their non-caregiving peers. Most often, the family member is a parent or grandparent with a condition such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.​"
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​- The National Alliance for Caregiving​
​Caregiving Youth Service Hour Pilot Program - Click Here
Press Release | McLean Brothers, High School Students Charlie, and A.J. Poole Raise Awareness for Caregiving Youth

​The boys shared their story on caregiving for their grandmother through Alzheimer’s at the 6th Annual Brain Bowl event in Boca Raton, FL and are launching a local pilot program to help recognize caregiving youth
1. Bring Kids into the National Conversation on Caregiving
Whenever anyone talks about family caregiving, kids should be a part of the conversation. Children living in a home where someone is receiving a considerable amount of care deserve recognition for their contributions, a seat at the table when discussing caregiving legislation, and general awareness that these kids are part of the caregiving crisis in the United States. They can also be part of the solution - they already are. Awareness and recognition are key. Kids Are Caregivers Too.

2. Identify
​Connect with us to help create ways for parents to be able to identify their child as a caregiving youth, and provide a pathway for the kids to be able to self identify/designate themselves as caregiving youth in school - and options to identify on a confidential basis and receive support. We would also like caregiving to be considered and identified as a source of childhood trauma experiences or ACE'S and acknowledged in the conversations, studies and solutions for kids with adverse childhood experiences. Currently - caregiving at home is not prominently recognized as a factor even though it is often a more prominent circumstance as other traumatic experiences that kids face.

3. Support 
Persuade the adults, and peers to support youth caregivers in schools. Work with us to create school programs, teacher/counselor education, and build support resources between the healthcare industry, schools and the community. Build pathways and programs to connect caregiving kids with resources that could help them in school and at home. 

4. Reward 
We want kids to get Service Learning Hours and Recognition for caregiving in their homes by their schools. The goal is for all children who have or are currently caregiving for an Alzheimer’s patient, or anyone with a serious illness in their home to receive credit for Service-Learning Requirements and consideration for Service Scholarships, and State and National Awards. For Example - Here are the details on civil service hours in Virginia - what we want - in every state.

Recognition Awards from any institution where service is part of a curriculum. We believe that kids who provide care supply an invaluable Community Service and should be recognized and rewarded the same as any student who participates in scouting, band, sports, or other recognized school activity.​ ​

We would like to see special designations or points on college applications - create a standardized way that caregiving kids can be immediately recognized by colleges for their significant life experience serving others.

We will assist other organizations who are working on solutions, recognition, and support for child caregivers. 
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5. Recovery & Opportunity
​We will post research, articles, and studies about the lingering effects that can happen from being a part of a family caregiving team to an Alzheimer's or Dementia patient, someone with a serious disability, or debilitating disease, especially in the end stages, especially in the home. 

Both adult and kid caretakers can experience a big transition period including PTSD type of symptoms. Caregivers sometimes struggle with intrusive thoughts and negative memories months and even years after their family members have died.

No matter what, caregiving for a person who has Alzheimer's or Dementia in your home is something that will fundamentally be a part of who kids are and who they grow up to be no matter what, both good and bad.

How children view their experience is one of the most important parts of the recovery process.

Caregiving kids should feel proud of what they've accomplished and their silent contributions should be acknowledged and rewarded by their teachers, schools, houses of worship and community. 

​We will promote ways to turn their caregiving days into a recognized skill that they can use to launch themselves into a successful future by partnering with others to make it happen. If you have an idea, if you want to help contact us.

Challenges Caregiving Youth Face:

 | Caregiving is stressful; it is outside of normal “kid stuff”/adolescent issues

 | ​ Kids miss a lot of school days because of their caregiving

 | They often can’t participate in sports or after-school activities

 | They lack traditional support from their parents to get extra homework help or just emotional support in general

 | Hopelessness - They don’t see a way out of situation, no vision for future

 | In many cases they can’t invite friends over to their house because of the situation; they can’t go to others houses

 | Kids feel like they have lost their childhood - saddled with adult responsibilities beyond their control

 | They are constantly concerned about the person they are helping, about what could be happening at home when they aren’t there. Worry affects all parts of their lives & has negative health consequences

 | Families too busy to pay attention to kids

 | Powerful sense of isolation and feeling alone. “Who else does this” they wonder? Non-caregiving friends don’t understand

 | Feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, shame, embarrassment, and depression - suicide risk

 | Getting bullied is common

 | Grades suffer, dropout rates measurably higher, college out of question for many based on obligations and finances

 | ​Fear of outside help/distress about discussing their situation with others in authority, teachers, counselors, etc. 

Reasons Why Caregiving Youth are Awesome & Need Recognition & Opportunities

 | On the positive side, youth caregivers tend to mature quicker

 | They are more compassionate than their non-caregiving peers

 | They build stronger relationships with adults

 | Youth caregivers are considerably more altruistic as a whole

 | These kids tend to show a disinterest in their own needs, and selfless concern for the well-being of others

 | ​They tend to be very unselfish kids (They have a greater potential to mature into generous, caring adults, who have altruistic leanings and could help solve many of the problems they've already experienced in their young lives - healthcare issues, caregiving, poverty, legal issues, medicine, etc.)
 It’s not all bad | In other words, kids who help provide care for others tend to be really “nice kids” with a lot of potential in life. This potential needs nurturing, and they need support and encouragement at school, in the community, in places of worship, and at home to succeed academically, personally and professionally.
@kidscaregivetoo Use our Hashtag #kidsarecaregiverstoo