Christian Lunn,15, lives in Harrogate with his parents. John has a heart condition and suffers from bipolar disorder; Berenice suffers from leukaemia

"There's so much to do each day that I set the alarm for 6.30am. My mum can't look after my dad all the time, as she has her own problems. Because of her leukaemia, she has daily chemotherapy, and there are days when she has to stay in bed. I will have often made breakfast ‹ an egg-and-bacon flan, for instance ‹ and my packed lunch the night before, so I don't have to think about cooking in the morning. Then Mum can eat when she gets up.

"Friends and neighbours help us with shopping. Everyone knows about my mum and dad at my school and I get a lot of support. I find school a release from everything that happens at home. It's like a chill-down. Nobody teases or bullies me and the teachers know how much I do around the house. School is how I heard about The Princess Royal Trust Harrogate & Craven Carers' Centre. Now I see my mentor, Helen, every week, and everything I've been thinking and feeling pours out. Helen asked a psychiatric nurse to come and explain to me about my dad's illness, and that helped. I've had to grow up faster than other teenagers. It's not easy to accept, this double blow of Mum and Dad, but at least I don't feel so isolated. I meet other carers and think: ŒPhew, it's not just me.' On bad days I sit and cry and wonder: why me, why us? Why is this happening and why can't my mum and dad just get better?

"Without help from the charity I would feel very frustrated. It organises trips where I can meet other young carers. We've been to Alton Towers, and they paid for me to have cookery classes. I will often make a casserole that lasts for three days to save time. At Christmas it'll be me cooking the turkey with all the trimmings.

"I enjoy school and my friends. Lunch is a chance to eat our sandwiches in the park if the weather is fine. But sometimes I just need to sit in silence. It's a struggle to get homework and coursework in on time, partly because of the housework, but also because I do so many activities after school. Mum has sent me to drama lessons since I was four, and I've never stopped singing and dancing. I do vocal exercises in the shower every morning and I want to study the performing arts. I've won local competitions and would like to sing for a living when I grow up.

"I was so happy to be picked for The X Factor in the summer. I didn't make it to the final round, but it was a great experience. I sang Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Electricity, by Elton John. I loved it and Mum and Dad were so proud.

"Homework has to be squeezed in after drama and music. My week is crammed with dance classes, choir and drama. I'm also rehearsing two musicals, Annie Get Your Gun and We Will Rock You, so there are no evenings when I can just come home and get on with my schoolwork. A great treat for me is to get everything done in time to watch EastEnders. After I finish cooking and clearing away, I watch half an hour of TV and then tidy up a bit, which makes me feel better. I don't manage to get to bed much before 10pm.

"I have more free time at weekends, but even then I have drama on Saturday mornings and I sing in the church choir on Sundays. Mum wants me to have a lie-in, but I never do. I don't have time to have friends round during the week, so the only chance to meet them is Saturday night. We might go to the cinema and have a pizza, but it's expensive. We can't afford to do it as often as we would like. We live on benefits and there's no money for extras.

"I'm teaching myself piano, and I would love to have lessons for Christmas, but there isn't any spare cash. Mum and I manage to go away on holiday once a year because my grandmother pays. We are lucky; I know lots of children like me who have never gone abroad. In fact I was on a school trip to Berlin this year when my mum was taken ill. The doctors thought she had a small tumour, but when they operated they realised it was more serious, and she was in hospital for a long time. I was distraught: Dad was in care and I had no parents to come home to. I felt my whole world had collapsed and I was bursting into tears all the time. I had trouble sleeping and I would wake up crying. I had terrible dreams about death, believing I had the same illnesses as my mum and dad. That's stopped now. When I go to bed, I put on relaxation music with whale and dolphin noises and it helps me relax. It's important, being a carer, that you keep yourself well so that you're not a worry for your parents. I know they feel guilty that I can't have a normal childhood, but I wouldn't change anything except for them to get better. My worst fear is that they will have a relapse. I don't want to think about that. I named my pet rabbits Hope and Faith for a reason."

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers www.carers.org - and young carers, www.youngcarers.net