PRESS ALERT | August 7, 2026 | National Media Coverage
The Los Angeles Times has published a major Voices piece examining the experiences of children and teens who provide care for family members and the long-term effects when young people take on responsibilities beyond their years.
In “Too many kids are forced to grow up too soon, especially girls,” published in print and online on August 4, journalist Lisa McCarty writes about becoming her mother’s primary caregiver at age 13 after her mother suffered a traumatic brain injury.
| “No child should have to give up their youth like I did,” McCarty writes.
The piece connects McCarty’s personal experience to the millions of children across the United States who provide family care. It also examines how caregiving and other adult responsibilities can fall disproportionately on girls, the long-term effects these responsibilities can have, and the lack of a national system to identify and support Caregiving Youth.
McCarty cites the widely used estimate of 5.4 million children providing care in the United States. AACY considers all current estimates a floor, not a ceiling. Existing data do not fully capture every child who is caregiving, including children caring for siblings, those providing care independently, and many whose caregiving is never identified.
The Los Angeles Times piece brings significant national attention to a population that remains underrecognized, undercounted, and largely hidden. Through her lived experience and journalism, McCarty is emerging as a leading voice in the national conversation about Caregiving Youth.
AACY is grateful to McCarty for continuing to bring this issue before new audiences and for recognizing the American Association of Caregiving Youth, Caregiver Action Network, and Hope Loves Company among organizations working to support Caregiving Youth.
Read the full Los Angeles Times Voices piece:
“Too many kids are forced to grow up too soon, especially girls”
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-08-04/kids-forced-to-grow-up