How Childline can help

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The Childline listening service is always here for every child and young person in Ireland who would like to talk about anything they have encountered online, or anything else which might be on their mind.

Trained Childline volunteers are there to listen, to support, to believe, to empower and to strengthen the coping capacity of any child or young person so they can face any challenge that comes their way.

 

Contacting Childline

 

 

Children and young people can contact Childline in free and in confidence, by:

  • Chatting online at Childline.ie
  • Calling 1800 66 66 66

 

Childline Therapeutic Support

The Childline Therapeutic Support Service also works with children and young people, along with their families, to support them to strengthen their resilience following a difficult experience in life.

 

Children’s Stories

Below are the stories of some children and young people Childline has supported in relation to issues involving aspects of online safety.

Bullying

A 13-year old girl chatted with Childline online and told the service how she felt very sad and alone, as her peers were constantly making fun of her appearance. They excluded her from friend groups and activities and sent her inappropriate messages online. She felt as though she could not face going back to school again.

Childline listened to her and supported her to explore the best options for her and how she could begin to grow in confidence. She decided to tell her older brother about what was happening and together they spoke with her parents and with her teacher, who took steps to address the bullying and make school a more comfortable place.

Social Media

A 10-year-old boy was referred to the Childline Therapeutic Support Service after his father became concerned that he was oversharing online and putting himself at risk while talking to people who may not have been who they seemed. The boy’s father worried that he could be vulnerable to being groomed.

The Childline Therapeutic Support Service worked with the boy to help him realise the importance of making positive changes and the potential consequences of over-sharing information online. He was assisted in developing an awareness of how to connect with friends in a safe and secure way and now has privacy settings installed on his tablet. His self-esteemed has improved as a result of his more responsible use of technology.

Click here to find out more about how Childline works to support children and young people.

 

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