Today, I had the pleasure of conducting an interview with one of Childline’s committed call receivers, Lucy Watney. Childine was founded in 1986 and today they receive a call from a young person in the UK every twenty-five seconds. In our conversation we focused mostly on how Childline helps young people through the holiday season and how important it can be as a source of support.

 

Thank you for your time today! Can you tell me how long you have been working at Childline?

 

“Sure, I have been volunteering for around fifteen years, and a paid member of the volunteer support team for five years.”

 

What are some of the typical issues that you hear a lot at this time of year?

 

“This time of the year we have more people talking to us about family relationships as they are predominantly home with family and carers, over the Christmas holiday. At this time of the year, it can be especially difficult with eating disorders because there is a big focus on food. So, a lot of our calls come from issues stemming from food. Not just during Christmas but often during holidays in general, children talk about school problems such as bullying, and worrying about going back to school.”

 

Why is Childline so important at this time of the year?

 

“It’s important at this time of the year, and every time of the year, as some children and teenagers who are struggling, don’t have anyone to talk to. Also, at Christmas it can be a time of a lot of pressure, if things are hard or unsafe at home, home can be a hard place to be. Sometimes it's more difficult for people to contact us during the holidays because they are with their family or carers. We need every child and teenager to know they can always call us if we they need to.”

 

What does Childline mean to you specifically, and how rewarding is it to volunteer there?

 

‘It is very rewarding because I really admire young people and I think they often are amazing and cope with difficult situations. I find it's a privilege that they trust us and are able to share what is going on for them and we can be there to offer support and help them explore what options they think they have.’

 

How easy is it to contact Childline?

 

‘There are multiple different ways. You can call us on 0800 1111, you can go to childline.org.uk to have an online chat or you can just send a message if that is easier.”