Hundreds of children counselled over impact of coronavirus outbreak

Over 900 counselling sessions with children and young concerned about the Coronavirus, of these, 597 sessions were with young people who had contacted Childline in the last 7 days. 

Childline has experienced an unprecedented demand for its services as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic starts to affect children’s lives.

Government has given Childline staff and volunteers key worker status as they battle to keep the vital service running and continue to support children.

Support hit a peak on Wednesday 18 March, the day the Prime Minister confirmed UK schools would shut, with 121 counselling sessions delivered.

Over half of young people who spoke to Childline last week about coronavirus were counselled for their mental and emotional health around issues like isolation, arguments at home and removal of professional support from schools and the NHS.

Childline also delivered over 50 counselling sessions with children who talked about Coronavirus who were having suicidal thoughts.

Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC, said:

“The 24/7 news cycle about Coronavirus is causing huge worry and anxiety in young people – particularly those who are already coping with many other issues in their lives.

Childline provides an essential service to vulnerable children, some of whom may be in a life-threatening situation, which is why our staff and volunteers are working tirelessly to keep Childline running.

While we are all facing events unprecedented in modern time keeping children safe and providing them with a space to talk about their concerns is our number one priority.”

NSPCC has published new content on coronavirus to support children, young people and their parents and carers:

• information and advice for children and young people on coronavirus
• tips and support for parents on talking to a child worried about coronavirus.

Childline also has a huge online community where children can get support from their peers on message boards and use expert resources to help them through any issue they’re worried about.

If adults are worried about children they can get advice on 0808 800 5000 or help@nspcc.org.uk.