The Berkeley evaluator’s guide specifically asks the evaluator to consider whether the applicant’s personal statement or other part of the application indicates that the student has faced significant obstacles, including: "Sibling caretaker, student must help parents (e.g., as translator, conducts business, pays bills, etc.), and quite a number of other issues. The evaluator is asked to code whether or not the enumerated obstacles limited the applicant’s ability to participate in academic and extracurricular activities.
==>The key is that the student needs to disclose the obstacle, and include enough information so that the evaluator can estimate the degree to which it affected the student’s opportunities. “Helped mom” doesn’t say nearly enough.