Childline receives nearly 40 contacts per day from children who feel unhappy

Over the past year, Childline has delivered over 14,000 counselling sessions about low mood or unhappiness to children and young people who have contacted the service.

Delivering 14,253 counselling sessions last year with children struggling with feelings of low mood or unhappiness, the NSPCC trained Childline counsellors know how vital it is for young people to seek support when they’re struggling with their mental health.

With the support of their partner, Lidl GB, they have launched a new campaign to shine a light on this topic. Their Childline service is there for all children with any concern.

The new Childline campaign, ‘Find Your Calm’, encourages all children to learn different ways of coping with frequent low mood to find what works for them.

Unhappiness was the second highest sub concern seen by Childline under the main concern of ‘mental health’. Nearly 40% of these counselling sessions were with young people aged between 12 and 15. Many of the young people who spoke to Childline on this topic were also concerned about issues such as loneliness, confidence, loss and anxiety.

NSPCC understand that every young person is different, and they may need help in navigating the ups and downs in their lives. This is highlighted in their new film, which follows four teenagers going through their own individual coping methods.

While Childline does provide counselling for issues centred around abuse, young people can talk to their trained counsellors about any concern affecting them. Shaun Friel, Childline Director, said:

“We know that many children are struggling with feelings of unhappiness. There are lots of reasons why this could be – problems at home, with their friends, societal factors or schoolwork.

We would encourage all children to reach out for support with these feelings, and Childline is here to listen. It doesn’t matter how small the concern may seem – we are here for every young person.”