Stress awareness month: How we support children through mental health struggles

Written by Elijah Cruz , Digital Communications Officer at Action for Children.

This April, we're shining a spotlight on stress awareness month. It's the perfect time to pause and reflect on the impact stress can have on our lives.

Stress can manifest itself in many different ways, and can impact our mental, emotional and physical health.

At Action for Children, we are committed to building children and young people’s emotional resilience to help them overcome challenges.

We have 43 mental health support services across the UK. This blog post will highlight two of our main mental health services, including Parent Talk and the Blues Programme to show how we're doing to help decrease stress in children and families.

How we've helped support children's mental health

Last year, Action for Children supported 88,689 children and young people with their mental health and wellbeing. Our frontline staff tell us that children are still struggling with their mental health, with many fearing the cost of living crisis and how their families will cope.

New poverty statistics show that there are 100,000 more children growing up in poverty last year compared to the year before. Constant worries about affording basic necessities can lead to high stress levels.

Thanks to our frontline staff and services, Action for Children has continued to be a vital lifeline for the children and families we support.

Parent Talk

Our Parent Talk service provides parenting information and advice for parents of children aged 0-19.

Last year, Parent Talk supported 539,842 people, including 6,869 people in one-to-one coaching sessions.

Across our family support services, 74% of parents and carers have improved parenting skills and confidence to support their children effectively.

Parent Talk is now an award-winning digital service, and has continued to grow to meet the increasing demand for support.

We've also had an increase in contacts from parents who are worried about their children’s mental health. One in four of our Parent Talk support sessions flag a serious concern for a child’s wellbeing, including issues like self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

The online service, accessible 24/7 and with no need for a referral, is available across the UK

The Blues Programme

The Blues Programme is our wellbeing programme for young people aged 13-19. Over six weeks, it teaches emotional resilience, and reduces low mood and anxious thoughts.

Last year, the Blues Programme helped over 18,000 children and young people. Of these children:

• 71% indicated an increase in their self-esteem.
• 89% of young people would give the Blues a 4 or 5 star rating.

Needed by children like Esther, 15 years old, who was struggling with exam stress so badly that she forgot to eat. She sought out support from Action for Children’s Blues Programme and has been using the mental wellbeing coping strategies she learned.

"I didn’t realise others felt the way I did either, it made feel normal and that I wasn’t going crazy. It was a safe space where we could talk about anything that was worrying us that week." Esther, 15

Help us do more

With your help, we can be a vital lifeline for even more UK children.

We can make sure that all children, young people and families across the UK have access to mental health support. This can help children better manage their stress and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.