What's Christmas like for Harrogate's young carers?
Benjy and Noah Hollins care for their younger brother, Arthur
Last updated 24th Dec 2021
For most, Christmas Day is a time for people to relax and enjoy a day off work with family, but that's not the case if you're a young carer who has to look after someone every day.
Benjy Hollins, 11, and younger brother Noah, nine, do this every day including at Christmas as they care for youngest brother, Arthur.
Arthur has developmental delay so the boys look after him and keep him entertained while their parents get all the festivities sorted.
Benjy told Greatest Hits Radio he wouldn't have it any other way.
He said:
"We have a little calendar where we wrap up Christmas books and open one each day up until Christmas day and then read it to Arthur. He likes to open all the presents so I let him open mine, but we always save some for when he goes to sleep so we can open our own.
"Arthur gets up so early on Christmas day, around 3am sometimes, and likes to go down and open the presents before we've even got up.
"I personally really enjoy a Christmas with Arthur and I think I wouldn't enjoy as much without him. Even though it can be a bit more stressful, I really do love his excitement and how energetic he is about opening all the presents. Just seeing the excitement on his face is amazing."
His younger brother, Noah, who also cares for Arthur, added:
"You do want to open your own presents to see what you've got but he's always showing us what we got instead. We like it because he enjoys it but we do want to open our own even though we can't.
"I love the advent books we do as a family. We get less time with our parents because they have to focus on Arthur so it's nice to get together and do something together because we don't always get to do that."
Mum, Lizzie, said:
"Sometimes I feel a little bit sad that it might be a struggle for them but they just get on with it and they're part of the team working to help Arthur.
"It does make me incredibly proud seeing how they are with Arthur because he enjoys spending time with them so much. It's his favourite thing to do.
"We do have a carer that comes and visits Arthur every so often so the boys and us can have a break and they get help from Carers' Resource who take them out on special days out."
They family are supported by Carers' Resource which is a not-for-profit organisation providing support for carers, no matter of their age, race, religion or needs.
The Young Carers team at Carers’ Resource exists to support young carers in the Bradford, Harrogate and Craven districts of Yorkshire. A young carer is someone aged 18 or under who helps look after a relative who has a condition, such as a disability, illness, mental health condition, or who misuse drugs or alcohol. Most young carers look after one of their parents or care for a brother or sister.