Guides
Family & carers guides
Supporting a parent or partner through care decisions, the difficult conversations, and looking after yourself as a carer.
In short: if you look after a parent, partner or relative, you are a carer, and there is help for you too. Ask the council for a free carer's assessment, check whether you can claim Carer's Allowance, and plan breaks before you reach crisis point. This page brings together our guides for families, which sit in the topic guides below.
Helping an older parent or relative
It often starts with noticing that someone is finding things harder. Planning ahead together, while they can take part, makes later decisions easier for everyone.
- How to help ageing parents by planning ahead
- Signs an elderly parent may need more care
- Caring for parents from a distance
- Caring for someone with sight or hearing loss
Difficult conversations and decisions
Talking about care, especially a move into a care home, is hard. It is normal for a parent to resist, for brothers and sisters to disagree, and for families to feel guilty, even when they have made the right decision.
- How to talk to a parent about moving into a care home
- When an elderly parent refuses care
- Managing family disagreements about care
- Coping with guilt
Looking after yourself as a carer
Caring can be exhausting, and burnout is common. A carer's assessment from the council can lead to practical help, and respite care gives you a break while the person you care for is looked after.
- Carer burnout: signs, and how to look after yourself
- Carer's Allowance and support for unpaid carers
- Discounts for carers
- Respite care: the full guide
When someone moves into care
More guides for families
Official information and support
Last reviewed 9 October 2026 by the AskBart editorial team. Figures and thresholds are checked against the sources on the methodology page when a hub is updated.