ChildLine sees large rise in lonely children calling for help
Report notes large increase in number of children calling ChildLine because they feel lonely
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Tuesday, 16, Mar 2010 12:01
The number of lonely children in Britain has increased by 60 per cent in the last five years, a report from the NSPCC today suggested.
A call was made nearly every hour to the ChildLine service last year from a child saying they felt lonely, with almost one in ten callers saying they had never told anyone about their loneliness before.
The report found there were two girls for every boy who called about feeling lonely and almost one in six of those calls was from a child aged 11 or younger.
Head of ChildLine, Sue Minto said: "Loneliness has always been a part of some children's lives but it is deeply worrying that more children are contacting us about this.
"Some of the children who contact ChildLine are lonely because their parents are rowing or divorcing. Others are lonely because someone they love has died. Yet others say they are being bullied or have no friends. Nearly one in ten lonely children report being abused or neglected."
The NSPCC's advices parents who are concerned that their child is withdrawn and may be feeling lonely to take their child's feelings seriously and to set aside time to hear about a child's day, their friends and any problems.
Ms Minto added: "Lonely children often feel worthless and lack self-confidence and some struggle to cope. Calls to ChildLine show that in the worst cases children became so desperate that they self-harm or even contemplate suicide.
"The sadness of their stories can be heartbreaking."