Last year, nearly 23,000 parents of 13-, 14-, and 15-year-olds took care of their sick children. This is 7,000 more than ten years ago, according to statistics from the Insurance Agency.
The main rule is that parents can take care of their sick children until they turn 12. However, if the child is so seriously ill that their life is at risk, they can be granted compensation for taking care of their sick child until they are 18.
There is no statistics on the reason why the number of parents taking care of their sick teenagers is increasing. However, Malin Nejdemo, a specialist at the Insurance Agency who works with cases involving seriously ill children, points out that diagnoses such as eating disorders and depression have become more common.
This does not apply, however, to cases involving serious physical illnesses such as cancer.
We do not see the same increase as we do with cases involving mental health issues, says Nejdemo to the radio.
