Child development

Where to start

For almost everything, the NHS is the right first move, and it costs nothing.

• Your GP. The gateway to everything the NHS offers a child: paediatric assessment, a referral to CAMHS, and support for you as the parent. Ask for a double appointment. Describe the pattern over weeks rather than the worst single day, and say plainly what you are worried about. Bring a written list; the ten minutes go quickly. www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• Your child’s school. The pastoral lead, the head of year, or the form tutor. Free, already knows your child, and often the quickest way to get something changed at school. Before or alongside anything else. A school cannot act on what it has not been told, and what you bring is often what it did not have.
• Your local authority. The council’s children’s services and SEND team. They hold statutory assessment, the Local Offer, and early help for families who need more than a school can give. When school-level support has been tried and is not enough, or when you want to know what your area actually provides. www.gov.uk/find-local-council

For child development

• NHS Best Start in Life (Start for Life). The NHS’s pages for pregnancy, babies and toddlers: feeding, sleep, bonding, potty training, early learning and school readiness, plus your local Family Hub. For the under-fives, as the first place to check. www.nhs.uk/start-for-life
• NCT (National Childbirth Trust). The early-years charity. Calm, evidence-based pages on toddlers, sleep and development, local groups, and a daily infant feeding line. For the under-fives. The phone line is for feeding questions; everything else is on the site and in the groups. The phone line is for feeding questions only. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. NCT Infant Feeding Line 0300 330 0700 · Every day 8am-midnight www.nct.org.uk/information
• Action for Children Parent Talk. A free one-to-one webchat with a trained parenting coach, and a library of articles by age on behaviour, sleep, neurodiversity and family life. When you want to talk it through with someone in writing, this week, without a referral. Free one-to-one webchat with a parenting coach, Mon-Fri, with evening slots on Mon and Thu; check the site for current times · Parent Talk+ by phone or video for parents of children with additional needs, up to eight free sessions parents.actionforchildren.org.uk
• Anna Freud. The Anna Freud Centre’s family wellbeing resources: careful, research-led reading on children’s emotional development, separation, self-care for parents, and supporting a child through treatment. When you want depth from a clinical source rather than a quick explainer. Reading only; there is no helpline. www.annafreud.org/resources/family-wellbeing

If your child has a long-term health condition

• Diabetes UK. The UK’s diabetes charity. A weekday helpline staffed by advisers trained in both the clinical and the emotional side, and a hub for parents on school care plans and family life with type 1. From diagnosis onward, and particularly when the school care plan needs writing. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Diabetes UK Helpline England, Wales and Northern Ireland 0345 123 2399, Scotland 0141 413 5148 · Mon-Fri 9am-6pm www.diabetes.org.uk/living-with-diabetes/life-with-diabetes/children-and-diabetes
• Epilepsy Action. The UK’s epilepsy charity. A free weekday helpline, live chat and email, and a free booklet for parents on a child’s epilepsy, medication and school. After diagnosis, and whenever the seizure plan or the school’s response needs sorting out. Epilepsy Action Helpline 0808 800 5050 · Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm · Live chat during opening hours; web form www.epilepsy.org.uk/support-for-you/the-epilepsy-action-helpline

In pregnancy and the first years, if you are struggling yourself

• PANDAS Foundation. Support for parents, mothers and fathers both, whose mental health has suffered in pregnancy or since the birth: WhatsApp every day, booked calls with trained volunteers, and peer groups. When the baby years are darker than you expected and you have not said so to anyone. WhatsApp 8am-10pm every day; free call-backs booked through the website pandasfoundation.org.uk

If you are considering private therapy

Waiting lists are long. If you can meet the cost, a registered therapist can usually be seen in weeks rather than months. Both registers below are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which is the thing to check before anything else.

• BACP Therapist Directory. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s public register. Search by area, by what you are bringing, and by whether the therapist works with children. www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists
• NCPS Therapist Directory. The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society’s register. Every therapist listed is qualified, supervised, insured, and accountable to a code of ethics. ncps.com/find-a-counsellor
• Kensington Square Therapy. Our own practice. We work with children, young people and parents, in person in London, online, and inside schools we partner with. www.kst.ltd

What to look for in a therapist, what a first session is like, and the questions worth asking before you commit, are set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

Everything else

The full directory, across every subject, is at theparentbook.com/services. If a number here has changed, please tell us at hello@theparentbook.com and we will correct it.