Young Caregivers Get an Assist

Imagine you're a teenager. You want to hang out with your friends, but you have to go home, clean the house, cook dinner and take care of your sick parent or family member. It's a lot. You want to do it. You love them and you’d do anything for them. But still, you're just a teen  An assist here and there would be nice...

I'll help with your appointment.

I’m cooking tonight! 

I did the laundry, dishes and cleaned the house today.

I love you mom! I’m always here for you!

These are commonly heard statements in the Cuco house. Dianne and Tanya Cuco have been caring for their mom since her leukemia diagnosis in 2008.

“It was so hard. Our dad left the house one year before my mom got ill,” says Dianne. “At first, my older sister and I didn’t know what to do.”

They quickly learned to care for their mom even while they were going to school and work. Both sisters do housework. They give their mom medication and take her to buy groceries.

Tanya is now a college sophomore studying to be a radiologist. Dianne, a ninth-grader, wants to be a veterinarian or marine biologist someday.

“Hopefully I can do something bigger for my mom when I grow up, like buy her a house,” says Dianne.

Caregiving youth, like Dianne and Tanya, help their relatives deal with physical or mental illness or disability. This help is significant and often on a daily basis, according to the.American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY), a support organization for youth and their families.

These eight to 18-year-olds often forgo their education, health, and childhood to take on the responsibilities of an adult caregiver.  (Click to Continue)

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Young Caregivers Get an Assist