Kids Helpline reports spike in calls to counselling services from 5-year-olds

Kids Helpline has revealed a disturbing spike in the number of calls from children as young as five needing counselling during lockdowns.

Children as young as five are calling youth counselling service Kids Helpline in record numbers.

Data from the organisation’s six-monthly report released this week reveals a 200 per cent increase in counselling contacts made by five-year-olds over the first six months of 2021 compared to the same time last year.

In the first six months of 2020, Kids Helpline received 14 calls from five-year-olds. That number jumped to 42 in the first six months of 2021.

The children are citing issues including emotional wellbeing, loss and grief, a spokesperson said.

Statistics show that weekly demand from young people for the counselling service increased by 68 per cent in NSW from June to July.

Children as young as five have been calling Kids Helpline during lockdowns.

Similar increases of 52 per cent and 50 per cent were recorded in Victoria and South Australia respectively during the same period.

“With homes going into lockdown across the nation to help flatten the coronavirus curve, many stressors have been potentially felt by children and young people, putting them at risk of mental ill-health,” Kids Helpline said in a statement.

“The upheaval and stress Australian children and young people are experiencing from the pandemic is a cause for concern.”

Yourtown CEO Tracy Adams, whose organisation runs the Kids Helpline, said children are struggling.

“Children and young people are increasingly experiencing mental health concerns, including suicidal ideation/behaviour and self-harm,” she said.

“Responding to concerns children and young people have in relation to their mental health and wellbeing is a major area of Kids Helpline’s work, the third most common reason for making contact is relating to suicide concerns.”

Kids Helpline statists show that 1610 contacts were made from children aged between five and nine in the past six months compared to 1588 for the first six months of 2020.

The number of calls from age groups including 10-14 years, 15-18 years and 19-25 years all went up, too.

Mental health concerns were cited as the top reason for making contact with the helpline.

Young people are also calling the helpline with suicide concerns.

Ms Adams said Kids Helpline counsellors acted upon 37 emergency care actions on average every week in 2021 related to a suicide attempt.

That figure is up 95 per cent compared to 2020.

An emergency interventions is an instance where Kids Helpline counsellors make contact with police, child safety or ambulance services because a young person is deemed to be at imminent risk of harm.

News.com.au previously reported that attempted suicide rates among Victorian teenagers rose by 184 per cent in the first six months of 2020.

Kids Helpline says calls to the service have gone up.

Kids Helpline revealed the statistic after Victoria was plunged into its fourth major Covid-19 lockdown in the past 12 months. It has since entered two more lockdowns.

Teenagers aged 13-18 were the most at risk, accounting for 75 per cent of the total crisis interventions from December 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021.

Forty-four per cent of Victorian emergency interventions from December 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, were responding to a young person’s immediate intent to suicide, while child abuse emergencies triggered 31 per cent.

“Stressed families meant we heard from young people at risk of abuse from family members,” Leo Hede, Kids Helpline project manager, said.

“Kids Helpline counsellors understood that many households had become particularly tense during lockdown.

“Where schools and other community connections may have previously played a role supporting young people at risk of abuse, the extended lockdowns and home schooling may have led to an increase in young people seeking support from us.”

– With NCA NewsWire