Summer holidays put strain on family relationships

Family relationships are under more strain during the summer holidays than any other time of the year, new figures from the NSPCC reveal today.

It comes after more than 3,000 contacts to Childline about the issue in Wales last year alone.
Counselling sessions about problems in the home delivered by the charity’s Childline service UK-wide reach their peak during July and August with more than 100 contacts a day from worried children and young people.

Almost half of these are about arguments and conflicts within the child’s family. But there is also a steep rise in the number of young people expressing worries about money and employment issues (+19%) and about being either thrown out or locked out of their own home (+19%).
To make it easier for young people to contact Childline, the NSPCC has unveiled a new brand and website –www.childline.org.uk– which enables simpler access from mobile and tablet devices. It also allows users to create a ‘mood journal’ so they can record, in confidence, how they feel each day and counsellors can respond if they have any concerns.
Last year (2015-16) there were more than 39,000 sessions delivered by Childline counsellors concerning family relationships and problems in the home, with nearly one in five (18%) of all conversations taking place during the school summer holidays.

In Wales, Childline volunteers dealt with 3,135 counselling sessions about the issue over the last year. Family relationships was also the second most common reason for children contacting Childline, making up 14% of contacts in Wales overall.

Childline’s Prestatyn base dealt with 2,563 contacts, whilst the Cardiff base dealt with 572.

As children and young people spend more time at home during the extended break, family relationships can often feel the pressure. Young people who contacted the service reported feeling depressed, lonely and isolated.

Worryingly, some young people felt their family life was so unhappy that they were considering running away from home or even harming themselves.

One girl, aged 15, contacted Childline because her parents’ arguments had led to her self-harming:

“I feel scared and upset when I see my parents argue. Sometimes they swear and scream at each other and other times they hit each other. Mum sometimes takes it out on me and we end up arguing too and it’s horrible; it triggers my depression and I start to self-harm to cope. I worry a lot about what will happen to us – I’m struggling to sleep at night and I’ve lost my appetite.”

Another girl, aged 17, told us that pressure from her father was pushing her to think about running away:

“I feel really anxious and worried all the time. My dad is pushing me to get a job and I am trying really hard but nothing seems to be happening. I recently left my job because I hated it there and my dad said I was useless and a disappointment because of it. I’m struggling to cope with the pressure he’s putting on me and sometimes I just feel like running away; I don’t know what to do.”

Peter Wanless, CEO of NSPCC, said:

“An unhappy home life can have a huge impact on children and young people and the long school break is putting further strain on difficult family relationships.

“A child’s home should be a safe place where they feel loved and cared for, but is often a cause of worry and anxiety ranging from parental break-ups to sibling arguments, their parents’ drug or alcohol abuse, being kicked out of home or the impact of money worries on the family.

“Some of these children need somewhere to vent, but for many they’re facing a really difficult time at home and desperately need someone to listen to them. Childline is there to help, providing them with a safe space to share their fears.”

Des Mannion, head of NSPCC Cymru / Wales, said: “It’s important that children realise Childline is always just a phone call or a few clicks away.

“Whether its trouble at home or just the need for someone to talk to; there are always trained professionals willing to listen and ease their concerns.”

Working with children and young people, Childline has refreshed its brand and created a new website to ensure it remains relevant and appropriate to those who use the service.

The new website reflects the massive changes in the way Childline is used since it launched thirty years ago, when 100% of contact from vulnerable children came via the telephone.

Last year the Childline website received 3.5 million visits and nationwide call centres provided over 300,000 counselling sessions, 71% of which were conducted online via email and chat.

Des Mannion added:

“Childline has traditionally been seen as a phone line but in the 30 years since launching it has developed into something much more than this. It now offers a wide range of services, accessible from all electronic devices, that includes 1-2-1 online counsellor chats, expert self-help content and advice, email counselling and a community of young people on message boards and social channels.

“The iconic telephone symbol has been replaced by a new strapline emphasising our promise to young people: ‘online, on the phone, anytime’, which reaffirms that Childline is here for them, however they want to get in touch, whenever they want to talk.”

Children can contact Childline for free, 24 hours a day on 0800 1111, while adults concerned about a child’s welfare can call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.