Plan to help young people with suicidal thoughts

Most of the people seeking help were teenagers

In 2018/19 Childline delivered 24,447 counselling sessions to young people plagued by a sense of despair, a three-year increase of a quarter.

Volunteers at the Manchester Childline base delivered 1,916 of those counselling sessions in 2018/2019 to children across the UK – an average of five each day.

Of the national total, most of those reaching out were teenagers, but there has also been a sharp rise in under 11s receiving help (87 per cent since 2015/16).

Young people contacting Childline with suicidal thoughts and feelings cited specific concerns about mental health, self-harm, family relationships and problems at school and college. Girls were more likely to talk about these feelings, with five times as many receiving counselling sessions than boys.

In response, the NSPCC is today launching a nationwide campaign - KIDS In Real Life - urging the public to help them save a child’s life, in real life.

#KIDS_IRL is highlighting that with so much of childhood today happening online, there are more ways than ever for children to hide how they really feel.

But behind the filters, feed and emojis, many of them are suffering. Some are even thinking about taking their own life.

The NSPCC is calling on people to show their support through a Pledge to Protect and make a donation to fund vital services like Childline which are there for children and teenagers when they have nowhere else to turn.