Supporting Young Carers in Early Childhood: Mapping Power, Threat, Meaning, and Strengths: A PTMF-Informed Qualitative Study

TL;DR

This study explores the challenges and strengths of professionals supporting young carers under age 8 in the UK, using a framework that highlights societal power dynamics and their impact on policy and care.

Contribution

The study applies the Power Threat Meaning Framework to analyze societal power dynamics affecting young carers in early childhood, revealing new insights into policy and professional practices.

Findings

Legal, ideological, and economic power shapes societal beliefs and policies about young carers under 8.

Inappropriate policy assumptions threaten the health and well-being of young carers and disempower frontline professionals.

Silent societal tensions suggest young carers in early childhood remain overlooked in policy and practice.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This qualitative study examines strengths and strains faced by professionals working with young carers throughout the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of society’s youngest carers; young carers in early childhood (YCEC) (0–8 years). Methods: The Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) was utilised to map key findings of three focus groups. This conceptual lens offers a narrative-based understanding of ways in which power operates in society. Increasingly applied to explore experiences of individuals, communities, and groups, the PTMF proposes that concepts of distress are founded in broader contexts of injustice and social inequalities. Twenty-four participants were recruited from throughout the UK via the Carers Trust Young Carers Alliance. Results: Findings highlight the strength of legal, ideological, and economic power shaping societal beliefs and policy concerning YCEC. This informs constructs of perceived social norms regarding who young carers are most likely to be, and where they may be found. This power threatens the health and well-being of YCEC, impacting the ability of professionals to provide optimal support. Inappropriate policy formed from these assumptions disempowers those providing services to young carers at the frontline of service delivery. Professionals and adults with living experience of caring in their early childhoods reflect upon silent tensions that exist within society, suggesting that YCEC remain the ‘elephant in the room’. Conclusions: We make recommendations to review the efficacy of statutory mandates concerning the needs assessment of young carers in England, and to align policy concerning early childhood and young carers to embed young carers’ rights consistently, starting in early childhood.

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