Childline contacted by hundreds on Christmas day
This year whilst many of us were enjoying Christmas with our families, Childline took calls, texts and emails from 1,005 young people in distress, an increase of 11% since last year.
Childline Manager, Margie Rose explained that children who contacted the service this year on Christmas day did so for a variety of reasons, but the majority of calls were from children who were experiencing loneliness, isolation, depression and difficulties within their family environment.
The volunteers who make the Childline service possible had said they noticed a theme of financial difficulties and the associated stress throughout 2010.
In addition to this many callers also had issues with their parents or other family members alcohol consumption, with one in 10 young people in Ireland admitting to feeling as though their life is significantly affected by their parents alcohol use.
Caroline O’Sullivan, director of The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said: “Alcohol can have such a profound impact on children in the home and can mean the difference between feeling safe and loved in the home and feeling scared, isolated and embarrassed.”
“For some of the children that we speak to every Christmas, what they want and need is to be happy, to be loved, to feel special and to have a Christmas worth remembering.”