Young carers from Kingston are playing a leading role in a national push to better support the UK’s youngest carers. Their contributions to the Young Carers Illustrations Project will be showcased at the upcoming Young Carers Alliance webinar on Wednesday 7 May, from 11am to 2pm. The free online event will focus on the critical theme of Supporting Younger Young Carers.

Kingston’s young carers were instrumental in shaping Young Carers in Bunnyland, the heartwarming picture book at the centre of the Illustrations Project. They provided creative input on illustrations, story elements, and even chose the title and named the main character, Honey—a six-year-old young carer who represents many of their own experiences.

The book was proudly launched by Kingston Carers’ Network at our Dream Big event at Chessington World of Adventures on 2 November last year. Since then, Young Carers in Bunnyland has become a runaway success, selling out so quickly it required a reprint just 19 days after its initial release.

Accompanying the storybook is About Me, a specially designed pre-assessment workbook that supports age-appropriate conversations with young carers under eight. This resource is now being used by both Kingston Carers’ Network and Kingston’s Early Help Team to help ensure even the youngest carers are seen, heard, and supported.

Despite the fact that there are no lower age limits for young carers’ rights across the UK, many services only begin offering support from age 8 upwards. This needs to change—and the upcoming webinar is an important opportunity to help shape the future of support for younger carers.

We warmly encourage anyone working with young people—or simply passionate about their wellbeing—to join the conversation and be part of the change.

Attendance is free. For more information or to register, visit this link