Carents – Support for Adult Children Caring for Ageing Parents in the UK

• Who we are: The UK’s national organisation supporting adult children caring for parents (carents).
  
  
• Scale of care: 4M+ carents in the UK, providing £100bn of unpaid care annually (avg. £25k per household).
  
  
• Impact on carers: 71% change career paths, 37% alter retirement plans, 55% face wellbeing issues.
  
  
• Our reach since 2020: 1M+ people engaged, 10M+ impressions, 50,000+ active community members.
  
  
• Value created: Independent analysis shows £9 social return per £1 invested.
  
  
• Our goal by 2026: Support 2 million carents across the UK.

A carent is an adult child caring for one or both ageing parents, in-laws or elderly relatives.

• Over 4 million people in the UK are carents.

• Together, they provide £100bn of unpaid care every year – an average of £25,000 per household.

The UK’s ageing population is growing rapidly:

• 25–50% of over-85s live with frailty.

• 30% of over-90s live with dementia.

• Even among those eligible, 100,000 families miss out on care due to underfunding.

And the number of carents is likely to grow as the population ages. Yet carents often don’t see themselves as carers and fall through existing support systems. They are frequently left to navigate complex health and council services alone. As one carent told us:

“Not only dealing with their care but dealing with councils and hospitals… each passing the buck to each other.”

The result: adult children step in to fill the gap  often at great personal cost:

• 71% change career paths.

• 37% alter retirement plans.

• 55% report serious wellbeing issues.
  
  

“I had to give up my job as my employer would not allow flexibility on working hours.”

It doesn’t always start with a diagnosis. A daughter begins helping with shopping and prescriptions. A son takes on banking and appointments. Slowly, they find themselves running two homes, two sets of finances, two weekly shops. All while juggling work and family responsibilities.

Most of the UK’s 4 million carents don’t identify as carers. They just get on with it. Quietly. Often alone.

The Carents Room is a free, award-winning digital platform and online community available 24/7.

1. Guidance

• Informed by NHS & NICE resources.

• Clear, practical answers on health, care, and legal issues.
  
  

2. Community

• The Carents Lounge: a safe, peer-support space.

• Moderated and compassionate, available around the clock.
  
  

“This is my lifeline, my keeper of sanities.”

3. Tools & Resources

• Practical eBooks, toolkits, and webinars.

• Support for dementia, COPD, medication, banking, and legal planning.
  
  

“You are an invaluable fourth emergency service.”

Our aim is simple: to reach and help as many carents as possible.

From our research and lived experience, we know people supporting an elderly parent are often time starved. They are balancing multiple roles, sometimes running two households, even two family units with children as well as parents. That leaves little time to attend local events or chase down fragmented support from councils or charities.

Carents need help when and where they need it most. That’s why we’ve built a platform that’s always on.

“I recently had one of your pamphlets given to me by a colleague which led me to your website. It is absolutely brilliant! I’ve been in this role for nearly 2 years and haven’t come across anything else like it to help carers.”

• 1M+ people reached

• 10M+ impressions

• 50,000+ active community members

• £9 social return for every £1 invested
  
  

By 2026, Carents will:

• Support 2 million carents across the UK

• Expand employer and primary care toolkits

• Launch localised support journeys

• Continue co-designing services with partners