Help emerges for children of parents who hoard
Local authorities urged to intervene earlier to assist children of hoarders, with a dedicated support line launched by Hoarding UK to support these children.
Around 70% of adults with hoarding difficulties say their behaviours began between the ages of 11 and 15. That finding comes from a review paper by Stuart Whomsley, lead clinical psychologist for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. He tells the Guardian the aim is to prevent childhood hoarding escalating into adult behaviour. Megan Karnes of Hoarding UK agrees, pointing to both trauma and a genetic component.
Children of parents who hoard, she tells the Guardian, can be at greater physical risk than the children of parents with alcohol dependency, because they live inside the visual representation of a parent’s trauma.
Hoarding UK is launching a dedicated online support group for these children in April 2025. Jo Cooke of Hoarding Disorders UK reports a surge in enquiries from children’s services, schools and charities such as Home-Start, and says her organisation has trained many of them.
Kayley Hyman, founder of Holistic Hoarding and herself the child of a parent who hoarded, has recruited what she believes to be the UK’s first specialist children and family worker. In one year, that worker has prevented 18 children from entering the care system.