Young carers are children under the age of 18 who provide care to a family member. Concern has been raised within the welfare services that these children are involved in levels and types of care that are developmentally inappropriate and that jeopardize their health and development. Despite a vast literature on the psychological impacts of caregiving upon adult carers, there has been little investigation into the impacts upon children. This review focuses on one main area of research that has examined children as caregivers; research on the ‘parentified child’.
