Girls make suicide calls to ChildLine

One in six calls to ChildLine last year concerning mental health were made by girls who talked about suicide.

Some even rang the 24-hour helpline while attempting to take their own life and others said they had tried to kill themselves and were thinking of trying again.

More than 6,000 children and young people – some as young as five – called about mental health problems last year, including depression, eating disorders, family troubles and sexual abuse.

Assistant director of ChildLine Joelle Leader said: “The number of children who rang to talk about mental health issues last year could have filled 250 classrooms so it’s a big problem.”

She added that there were not enough therapeutic services for children and ChildLine was urging the government to give the issue greater attention.

Mental health information

Child protection information