Help for children

Hi! If you're reading this because your parents are not getting on and you want to talk to someone about how you feel about this the main place for help if you're aged 12 or under is ChildLine.

You can talk to ChildLine about anything - no problem is too big or too small. If you are feeling scared or out of control or just want to talk to someone you can call ChildLine. And it's mostly PRIVATE - they will only talk to you about telling someone else if they think you are in serious danger. You can ring them FREE on: 0800 1111 or you can look at their website at www.childline.org.uk

If you can't get through to ChildLine, if the lines are busy, keep trying but if you have problems and need to speak to someone, you can call the NSPCC helpline on: 0808 800 5000. This never closes. There is always someone there to talk to even in the middle of the night. This is free, except from mobiles, and mostly private too.

Another thing the NSPCC have is a website on www.there4me.org which offers help, advice and support through the internet. Most of it is open all the time and the website tells you which bits are not and when they are open.

The Samaritans are always there as well, every day and every night - you can always phone them. They don't mind what you want to talk about and everything you say is private. There is no need to feel on your own. If everyone is getting you down, you can talk to them and they will understand and talk it through with you. To speak to the Samaritans ring 08457 909090. If you want to find out more about them first you can visit their website at www.samaritans.org. Or, if you want to email them about how you are feeling you can do that to jo@samaritans.org and they'll email you back within 24 hours.

Finding out about changing families

If you are worried that your parents are splitting up there's a really good website to help you understand and feel a bit better. It gives practical info for children going through family change. You can find it at www.itsnotyourfault.org/How_to_cope.html. There's a bit on there about help for parents too - you might want to show it to your Mum and Dad!

There is a booklet that you can print from the internet which has ideas from other children whose parents have separated or divorced, as well as games, spaces for you to write down and think or talk about your feelings and a list of other places than can help. To find the booklet go to:
www.tso.co.uk/bookshop/gempdf/Cafcass_MFC_Younger.pdf

Sometimes families have problems. Your parents or carers might be splitting up, or they may find it hard to look after you properly, or to keep you safe. Families can often sort out these problems. But sometimes they can't. If they can't they use people called solicitors and places called the Courts to help them make decisions. If you want to find out about how this all works and what it will mean for you, there's a website for children on: www.cafcass.gov.uk/cafcass_and_you/info_for_children.aspx

Another website you could find helpful is www.divorceaid.co.uk/child/children.htm which gives some help and advice for children when their parents are divorcing.

To find out what children whose families have changed have to say about it and what they think might help other children you can visit www.cf.ac.uk/claws/kids. They talk about some good things too and have a section for parents.