Samantha's story

Samantha, a talented young athlete, shares her experience of mental health problems during coronavirus lockdown. Her and her mother, Louise, want to raise awareness of Childline to support other young people.

"I feel isolated and cut off from the outside world"

"I’m a disabled athlete with a visual impairment and am usually very active. I attend swimming training three times a week and I go to goalball (a blind Paralympic sport) competitions and training up and down the country a few times a month. I have to miss my weekly art classes, and I generally miss the routine of attending school.

[I miss] being active, attending goalball training and tournaments, my goalball coaching sessions with younger children. Sport definitely helps my mental health so I really miss it when I can’t do it. I’m also sad I’ve had two concerts and many theatre trips cancelled.

"I already suffered from depression and anxiety and that’s been made worse by Corona so now I’m fearful and cry a lot. I’m worried family members will die and I’m scared because it feels like a zombie apocalypse."

Even though my family are here, I feel very lonely. I’m sleepy all time and have lost interest in most daily activities and routines. CAMHS are continuing to support me at home via phone calls, and mum knows they’re there if needed. "

Finding ways to cope during lockdown

"My parents are trying very hard to keep me active. We do our daily walk and mum and dad come up with things to keep me interested. We like having a cinema experience at home, so we’ll buy a film on Sky box office and have a big box of popcorn.

My mum has arranged with my art tutor to continue sessions via FaceTime. I’m doing baking, drawing, puzzles and playing with my cats.

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"When it’s hard to lift your head from the pillow or even open your eyes, just try and set yourself achievable small daily goals. It’s ok to be scared at the news but also talk about what those fears are. As a family, talk through what lockdown really means and why it’s important to stay safe and self-isolate to protect your grandparents and your loved ones. "

It’s the isolation I’ve found difficult. I really miss the routine of a school timetable and my visual impairment means I’ve struggled accessing materials at home. This all has a knock-on effect to my mental health. My school have been brilliant, they’ve kept in touch with me and my mum and one teacher even came around to see me when I was having a particularly difficult time. We sat in the garden and socially distanced and talked things through."

Samantha and her mum have been working with us to raise awareness of Childline, and to encourage young people to speak out about mental health. With lockdown conditions increasing feelings of anxiety and loneliness, it’s more important than ever for children to have somewhere to turn with their concerns.

How Childline helps

Childline is a free service for children and young people - here whenever they need support or advice. Childline delivered an average of around 16,300 counselling sessions a month last year.

Childline is here for every child and young person. Whatever problems or dangers they're facing we’re here to listen – 365 days a year.

"I am so immensely grateful that you were there to listen without telling me I am lying, judging me or making me feel worse about myself and that is the amazing thing about these chats, they can save lives."
Girl, aged 14

Why children and young people need Childline

Children don’t always know who to trust with their worries. Without a safe place to turn, they can put their trust in the wrong person or keep their fears to themselves. Home isn’t a safe place for every child, and the pandemic made even more children feel trapped, lonely, and unsure who to trust.

"I just wanted to say a big thank you to the counsellor I spoke to this morning. I don’t know what I would have done if you had not been there to talk to. You made me feel so much better about myself and gave me hope that maybe I will make it. I am so grateful for everything you have done. I was able to feel like my feelings are valid and that I have worth and a reason to live."
Girl aged 14

Childline gives every child access to free, confidential support whenever they need it. There were almost 200,000 Childline counselling sessions with children last year. Childline is always here to listen, whatever their worry.

The difference Childline makes for children and young people

Childline is here for children and young people wherever and whenever they need us. Feedback from young people has told us:

Childline helps them feel less alone with their problems
Childline helps them see their problems from a new perspective
Talking about problems with Childline helps them open up with other people.

Our Childline staff and over 1,100 volunteer counsellors around the UK delivered almost 200,000 counselling sessions in 2022/23.

Hear from Omar, one of our counsellors, about his experience helping children during the pandemic.

"The volunteers who contribute are exceptional people… [We] are committed to the service continuing because we want to guarantee it is there for children and young people. We realise there is a real need and we are there for them."
Gwenno Huws, Childline volunteer counsellor (Prestatyn)

Children and young people also turn to our website for support online. Our website puts young people first – with games, tools, advice and support about anything from making friends to child abuse. Young people also turn to Childline’s message boards to share their worries with other young people in a safe online space, with nearly 38,000 submissions to the message boards last year.

"I have been seeing a counsellor at school for the last few years which has helped. I only see them once a week so in between I look at the Childline website for tips on managing anger and stress."
Boy, 13, Childline website user

In 2018 we created childline.org.uk/kids specifically for children under-12, to ensure our information is accessible for young people of all ages.

What’s next for Childline?

We want to be there for every child who needs us, no matter what their worry or how they choose to contact us. Children and young people sometimes have to wait for a Childline counsellor to be available. We’re always looking to improve our counselling services and make sure we’re there with them while they wait.

One example of this is the creation of Cubie, our chatbot helper that we've developed with our technology partner O2. Cubie asks important opening questions to children and young people while they wait. It also points them to helpful advice, support and games around the site to try in the meantime.

On average, online counselling sessions take over three times as long as over the phone – and make up around three quarters of our sessions.³ By using a chat bot we can help counsellors and young people by providing them with more information before each session.

It costs £4 to answer a child’s call for help. Over 80% of our income comes from those who choose to give to us⁴

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Supporting children and young people

A teenage boy sat outside while staring into the distance.

Support children's mental health

Read our advice on how to support children struggling with their mental health.

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Childline

Childline is here for all children and young people, whatever they're going through. Children can contact us online or over the phone, 365 days a year.

How we're making a difference

Supporting SEND children

Advice for parents and carers on supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities during coronavirus (COVID-19).

Learn more

DISCLAiMER

*This is a true story but names have been changed to protect identities and any photographs are posed by models.

References

3. In 2020/21, the average handling time for an online counselling session was over three times as long as the average for a counselling session by phone. This includes the time taken by the counsellor to record information after the counselling session is finished.
4. In 2022/23 our total income was £120.6 million. Income from supporters includes donations and legacies (excluding statutory non-performance related grants) and trading activities. The total income from supporters for 2022/23 was £101.6 million.