‘It’s like having a toddler in the house’

HAVING a teenager with all the demands of a toddler is how Rosemary Kratschmar describes caring for her 14-year-old son Sammy, who has Down syndrome.

Ms Kratschmar, a mother -of -four from Dublin, is one of Ireland’s 95,000 family carers who receive no state recognition or support for their caring commitments.

Research, commissioned by Care Alliance Ireland and to be published today, shows family carers are twice as likely to have poor health and a poor quality of life, with 25% experiencing stress or nervous tension.