Support beyond this library

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
• NHS 111, and Lifeline in Northern Ireland. The mental health crisis line for your area. Free, confidential and answered twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. When you or your child is in mental health crisis and it will not wait for a GP appointment. England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health optionNorthern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000
• NHS Talking Therapies. Free NHS therapy for adults in England, for anxiety and low mood. You can refer yourself; you do not need to go through your GP first. For the parent. A great many of the parents we sit with are carrying something of their own, and waiting for someone to ask. www.nhs.uk/service-search/mental-health/find-an-NHS-talking-therapies-service
• 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.

Find help by subject

Every subject has its own sheet, naming the organisations that help with that specifically, and the situations in which each one is the right call.

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

Every organisation we would send a parent to

• 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
• Adfam. Information, a forum and films for families affected by someone else’s drinking, drug use or gambling. For reading and company. There is no helpline, and one-to-one support is free only in a few areas. Mainly England. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the national equivalents may be the better route. adfam.org.uk/help-for-families
• ADHD UK. A national ADHD charity with free online support groups, including one for parents, plain guides to getting a child assessed and to the SEND system, and template letters for exam access arrangements. When you suspect ADHD, while you wait for assessment, and when school needs a nudge. Use the free groups; the paid course is not what we are pointing you to. Use the free groups and guides. The paid course and the coaching marketplace are not what we are pointing you to. adhduk.co.uk
• Adoption UK. The peer-led charity for adoptive and kinship families. A weekday advice line, peer support and resources on school and on adopted teenagers. For the everyday texture of adoptive family life, and the school assignments and questions that catch families out. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Adoption UK Helpline 0300 666 0006 · Mon-Fri 10am-2.30pm; Northern Ireland Mon-Fri 9am-5pm www.adoptionuk.org/helpline
• Age UK. Age UK’s free advice line, open every day, and a finder for your local branch. When you are caring for an older relative while parenting, and need the practical side handled. Age UK Advice Line 0800 678 1602 · Daily 8am-7pm, 365 days a year www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice
• Al-Anon Family Groups (including Alateen). Free support groups, in person and online, for anyone affected by someone else’s drinking, a daily helpline, and Alateen groups for twelve to seventeen year olds. When the drinking is a relative’s and you need people who have lived with it. Al-Anon helpline 0800 0086 811 · Every day 10am-10pm al-anonuk.org.uk/getting-help/helpline
• Alumina (online self-harm support for 10 to 17s). Free seven-week online support groups for ten to seventeen year olds who self-harm, small and anonymous, led by trained practitioners. Your child signs up themselves; under-fourteens need your permission. For a young person who will not talk to you but might talk in a group of people their age. Not for a crisis. For the young person. Not a crisis service. www.selfharm.co.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
• Anti-Bullying Alliance. Clear guidance on what counts as bullying, what a school in England must do about it, and how to raise it with them, from the body that sets the standard. Before the meeting with school, so you know what you are entitled to ask for. Information; Kidscape is the line to ring. anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/advice-and-support/advice-parents-and-carers
• Anxiety UK. A national charity whose single subject is anxiety, with free downloadable guides on helping an anxious child. For reading written by people who do only this. There is no free helpline to ring; the number is a recorded information line. The number is a recorded information line, not a person. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Anxiety UK self-care infoline 03444 775 774 · 24/7 recorded self-care information www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/helping-your-child
• BBC Action Line. The BBC’s list of who to contact about the subjects its programmes cover. If a programme has just brought something home and you want a vetted list of where to turn. A signpost, not a service. A signpost rather than a service. It points you to the organisation that does the work. www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
• Beat (the UK’s eating disorder charity). The UK’s eating disorder charity. A free helpline, webchat and email, and, for parents specifically, a free twelve-week one-to-one support programme and an online learning hub for families. As soon as eating has become a worry, and alongside the GP, not instead. You do not need a diagnosis to call. BEAT Helplines England 0808 801 0677, Scotland 0808 801 0432, Wales 0808 801 0433, Northern Ireland 0808 801 0434 · Mon-Fri 3pm-8pm · One-to-one webchat and email (help@, Scotlandhelp@, Waleshelp@ or NIhelp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk) at the same hours · Outside those hours the line is closed. If your child is physically unwell, use the urgent routes on this page, which are open when this line is not. www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/support-someone-else
• Bilingualism Matters. A research network, founded at the University of Edinburgh, with plainly written, evidence-based guidance on raising a bilingual child: what to expect, what not to worry about, and how to keep the home language alive. When school English is winning and the heritage language is slipping. Reading; there is no helpline. www.bilingualism-matters.org/resources
• Blue Cross Pet Loss Support. A free daily phone line, webchat and email for anyone grieving a pet, staffed by trained volunteers who have been through it. When a pet has died and it is your child’s first real loss. Pet Loss Support 0800 096 6606 · Every day 8.30am-8.30pm · Webchat and email via bluecross.org.uk/pet-loss; Facebook support group; trained volunteer responders who have themselves experienced pet bereavement. www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-loss-support
• British Dyslexia Association. The UK’s dyslexia charity. Plain guidance on whether your child might be dyslexic, how to get an assessment and what school should be doing, plus a part-time helpline by phone and email. When reading and writing are the difficulty and you are not sure whether it is a slow start or something more. Email is the more reliable route; the phone hours are short. Volunteer-staffed, so messages left outside the hours are answered when they can be. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. BDA National Helpline 0333 405 4567 · Tue 10am-1pm, Wed 1pm-3pm, Thu 1pm-3pm www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/children
• Brook. The young people’s sexual health charity. Calm pages for parents on puberty, periods and talking about sex and relationships at home. When the question has arrived in the back of the car. Reading; the clinics are for young people themselves. www.brook.org.uk/parents-and-carers
• Cafcass (for separating parents). The official body that advises the family courts about children. A free parenting plan you can fill in together, plain factsheets on what happens if you go to court, and a course on parenting apart. Early, before positions harden. The parenting plan is worth doing whether or not a court is ever involved. www.cafcass.gov.uk/parent-carer-or-family-member
• CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably). A free evening line, webchat and WhatsApp for anyone over eighteen who is struggling or having suicidal thoughts, and for anyone worried about someone who is. Between 5pm and midnight every day. CALM is open from 5pm to midnight every day. Outside those hours, use the numbers at the top of this sheet. CALM Helpline and Webchat 0800 58 58 58 · Daily 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year · Webchat and WhatsApp at the same hours · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.thecalmzone.net/suicide-prevention-helpline
• Carers UK. The UK’s carers’ charity. A free weekday helpline and email advice on benefits, carers’ assessments, work and local services. When you are caring for a partner, parent or child alongside everything else and need to know what you are entitled to. Carers UK Helpline 0808 808 7777 · Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, including bank holidays · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/helpline-and-other-support
• CEOP (the police’s online child protection command). The National Crime Agency’s child protection command. Their parents’ pages explain grooming, image sharing and gaming risks calmly, and the CEOP Safety Centre is where you report an adult who has contacted your child online. When what has happened online may be a crime: an adult asking for images or personal details, or pressure on your child to share pictures. Report at ceop.police.uk/safety-centre. To report something, use the CEOP Safety Centre at ceop.police.uk/safety-centre. www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents
• Channel 4 Help & Support (4Viewers). Channel 4’s list of UK charities by subject, including a page on teenage concerns. The same use as the BBC list. A signpost, not a service. A signpost rather than a service. It points you to the charity that does the work. www.channel4.com/4viewers/help/teens
• Charlie Waller Trust. A free course of five online workshops for parents and carers of a young person with an eating disorder, teaching the Maudsley carer-skills approach: what to say, how to respond to difficult behaviour, how to plan for setbacks. Once treatment is underway and you want to be part of it rather than watching it. Dates are on the page. charliewaller.org/what-we-offer/eating-disorder-workshops-for-parents-and-carers
• Child Bereavement UK (incorporating Winston’s Wish). The UK’s children’s bereavement charity, now including Winston’s Wish. A free helpline, live chat and WhatsApp, and bookable calls with a bereavement specialist, for grieving children and young people up to twenty-five and for families where a child has died. As early as you like after a death, and again later if the grief resurfaces. They will also know what exists near you. Child Bereavement UK helpline 0800 02 888 40 · Mon-Fri 8am-8pm, except bank holidays · Live chat and email via the website; WhatsApp or text 07418 341800 · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.childbereavementuk.org/Pages/Category/child-bereavement-uk-support-services
• Child Death Helpline. A free listening line staffed by parents who have themselves lost a child, for anyone affected by the death of a child of any age. When the person who died was your child, or a grandchild or sibling, and you want to speak to someone who knows. Staffed by bereaved parents. Evening hours every day. Child Death Helpline 0800 282 986 · Mon-Fri 10am-1pm; every evening 7pm-10pm childdeathhelpline.org.uk
• Childnet. Guides to having the conversation, by age, on gaming, sharing images, online bullying and where the line is, from one of the charities behind the UK Safer Internet Centre. When the settings are done and the talking is the hard part. www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers
• Contact (for families with disabled children). The charity for families with a disabled child, whether or not there is a diagnosis yet. A free helpline, webchat, benefits advice and local groups. In the early days after a diagnosis, or while you are still waiting for one, when you need someone warm and practical. Contact Helpline 0808 808 3555 · Mon-Fri 9.30am-5pm (Tue opens 10.15am) · Webchat and an online enquiry form via the website; bookable Listening Ear calls contact.org.uk/help-for-families/information-advice-services/our-helpline
• Coram Family Lives. A free, confidential helpline for any parenting or family worry, by phone, live chat, WhatsApp or email, staffed by trained family support workers. When you need to talk it through with someone, about your child or about how you are managing, and you do not need a specialist to do it. Coram Family Lives helpline 0808 800 2222 · Mon-Fri 9am-9pm; weekends 10am-3pm; closed bank holidays · Live chat and WhatsApp 07441 444125 at the same hours; email askus@coramfamilylives.org.uk · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.coramfamilylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/confidential-helpline
• Coram Kidscape. The UK’s anti-bullying charity. A free Parent Advice Line by phone, WhatsApp or email, staffed by people who know how schools work. When you have raised bullying with the school and it has not stopped, or you want help preparing for that conversation. The phone hours are short, but WhatsApp and email are answered outside them. Kidscape Parent Advice Line 0300 102 4481 · Mon-Tue 9.30am-2.30pm; reduced over the summer holidays. Voicemail, email and WhatsApp accepted outside hours · If a child is at risk of harm now, do not wait for a reply: call the police on 101, or 999 if anyone is in immediate danger. coramkidscape.org.uk/parent-advice-line
• Cruse Bereavement Support. The UK’s bereavement charity, with a free helpline, local branches and staff trained in complex loss, including bereavement by suicide. When you are grieving alongside your child and need support of your own, or when the loss is one the rest of the family is finding hard to speak about. Cruse Bereavement Support National Helpline 0808 808 1677 · Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri 9.30am-5pm; Tue 1pm-8pm · Email and web form; local branches for one-to-one and group support; Hope Again (hopeagain.org.uk) for young people · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.cruse.org.uk/get-support/helpline
• 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
• Enquire (the Scottish advice service for additional support for learning). Independent advice for parents in Scotland on additional support for learning: what the school must do, and how to challenge a decision. The call is local rate. When your child is at school in Scotland and the support is not arriving. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Enquire helpline 0345 123 2303 · Mon, Tue and Thu 9.30am-4.30pm · Outside those hours the line is closed. The advice pages at enquire.org.uk do not close; the service is run by Children in Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government. enquire.org.uk/contact-us
• 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
• Families in Global Transition. An international community for families who move between countries, with writing, research and a bookshop on what it is to grow up between cultures. When your child asks where home is and you do not have a one-word answer. International, not UK-specific. International, not UK-specific. There is no UK charity for this. www.figt.org
• Family Action FamilyLine. A free helpline for adults on family relationships, conflict, parenting, caring and money, by phone, text, email or chat, with befriending or short counselling if it would help. When the strain is on you and there is no one to say it to. FamilyLine 0808 802 6666 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; closed bank holidays. Out of hours, text FAMILYACTION to 85258 family-action.org.uk/get-support/familyline
• FEAST (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders). Parents of children with eating disorders supporting other parents: a long-running forum, moderated groups, a free thirty-day daily email for families at the start, and peer mentoring. From the first weeks, when you need to hear from people a year ahead of you. International, so treatment questions go to Beat and the NHS. www.feast-ed.org
• FFLAG (parents and families of LGBT+ people). Parents of LGBT+ children supporting other parents: a helpline staffed by volunteers who have been where you are, email support, online and local groups, and plainly written guides. When you want to talk to another parent before you talk to anyone else. Peer support, not clinical advice. Standard call rate. Parents supporting parents, not clinical advice. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. FFLAG helpline 0300 688 0368 · Wed-Thu 10am-8pm; Fri-Sat 10am-6pm · Email support and Zoom parent groups via the website · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.fflag.org.uk
• FRANK. The government’s confidential drugs advice line, open twenty-four hours, with an A to Z of drugs, a section for parents who are worried about their child, and a finder for local services. When you have found something, or heard something, and want facts before the conversation. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. FRANK 0300 123 6600 · 24 hours, every day www.talktofrank.com
• Gingerbread. The charity for single parents. Clear written guidance on money, housing, separation and co-parenting, and free membership of local and online groups. For the practical layer of parenting on your own. There is no longer anyone to ring; the information pages are the offer. The advice line closed in April 2025. The information pages remain. The advice service closed on 1 April 2025. No helpline or webchat. www.gingerbread.org.uk/information
• Grief Encounter. A children’s bereavement charity based in London, with a free weekday helpline and email, and counselling, workshops and family days from its own centres. When you want a London service that can see your child in person, or a second voice alongside Child Bereavement UK. grieftalk helpline 0808 802 0111 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm · Email bereavementsupport@griefencounter.org.uk www.griefencounter.org.uk
• Home-Start UK. Trained volunteers who visit families with young children at home, week by week, and local groups. You can refer yourself. When the early years are harder than anyone told you and what you need is another adult in the house. What is offered varies by area. What is offered, and how long the wait is, vary by area. The local branch is the right first call. www.home-start.org.uk/find-your-nearest-home-start
• Hub of Hope. A free directory of local and national mental health services, searched by postcode and by what you need, with separate routes for under-twenty-fives and for urgent help. When you want to know what actually exists near you, for you or for your child. A directory, not a service. It tells you what exists near you. hubofhope.co.uk
• Internet Matters. Step-by-step guides to the settings on every device and app, advice by age from nought to eighteen, and guides to AI tools and gaming. When you need to actually change something on a phone tonight. The most practical online safety source in the UK. www.internetmatters.org/advice
• Internet Watch Foundation. The UK hotline that gets sexual images of children removed from the internet. The report is online, anonymous and free. When you have found an illegal image of a child, including one of your own child, and need it taken down. The IWF removes the image; reporting the person goes to CEOP or the police. The IWF takes down the image. Reporting the person who sent it goes to CEOP or the police, and the two usually need to run together. www.iwf.org.uk/en/uk-report
• IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice). Free, independent legal advice on special educational needs in England: SEN support, EHC needs assessments and plans, exclusions and tribunal appeals. A call-in helpline and bookable advice appointments. When the school or the local authority has stopped moving and you need to know what the law says they must do. England only. The SEND systems in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland work differently. IPSEA Advice Line and Call-in Helpline 0300 222 5899 · Triage Tue 9.30am-12.30pm; Call-in Helpline Wed 9.30am-2.30pm www.ipsea.org.uk/get-support
• Kinship. The charity for grandparents, relatives and family friends raising a child. A free advice line, bookable one-to-one appointments, and peer groups across England and Wales. For the legal, financial, school and emotional layers of raising a child who is not your own by birth. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Kinship Advice Line 0300 123 7015 · Mon-Fri 10.30am-1pm, excluding public holidays · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. kinship.org.uk/support-and-advice/talk-to-someone/contact-the-kinship-advice-team
• Kooth. Free, anonymous online support for young people, commissioned by the NHS in many areas: articles, moderated forums and drop-in text chat with a qualified practitioner. For a teenager who will not talk to you but might talk to someone. Whether it is available depends on where you live; they check at sign-up. Whether it is available where you live depends on your local authority, so it is worth checking first. explore.kooth.com/families
• Macmillan Cancer Support. The clearest UK guide to telling children about a parent’s cancer, age by age, and a free daily support line with nurses on the same number. When a diagnosis has arrived and you are rehearsing how to say it. Macmillan Support Line 0808 808 00 00 · Every day 8am-8pm · Online chat at macmillan.org.uk; nurse line within the same number for clinical questions www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/diagnosis/talking-about-cancer/talking-to-children-and-teenagers
• Men’s Advice Line (run by Respect). A free, confidential advice line and webchat for men experiencing abuse at home. The same moment as the line above, for fathers. Men’s Advice Line 0808 801 0327 · Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; webchat Mon-Fri 9am-10am mensadviceline.org.uk
• Mental Health Foundation. Short, evidence-based explainers on children’s mental health and on parenting while looking after your own. For a calm first read on the whole family rather than one child. Information only; they do not advise on individual situations. www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/children-and-young-people
• Mind. The UK’s mental health charity. Pages written for parents of a struggling young person, an Infoline that points you to the right service, and a Support Line that will simply listen. When your own reserves are running low and you want to talk to someone who is not the GP, your partner or a friend. Not for a crisis. Not a crisis line. If tonight is urgent, use the numbers at the top of this sheet. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Mind Infoline 0300 123 3393 · Mon-Fri 9am-6pm (except bank holidays) · Mind Support Line 0300 102 1234, Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, for emotional support rather than signposting · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.mind.org.uk/for-young-people/information-for-parents
• Nacoa (National Association for Children of Alcoholics). A free helpline and email service for anyone affected by a parent’s drinking, open six days a week, and one of the few lines a child can call directly. When a parent’s drinking is shaping the household, whether you are the other parent or the child. Nacoa Helpline 0800 358 3456 · Mon-Sat 10am-7pm · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and a child or young person can call Childline free on 0800 1111 at any hour. nacoa.org.uk/helpline
• National Autistic Society. The UK’s autism charity. A large advice hub, a directory of autism services near you, an online community, and a one-off support call from another parent of an autistic child, arranged through the website. From the first suspicion through assessment and after. There is no phone helpline to ring; the parent-to-parent call takes up to twelve working days to arrange. No phone helpline. The parent-to-parent call is arranged online and can take up to twelve working days. By arrangement, requested through the website · Parent to Parent Emotional Support Helpline: confidential one-off call staffed by parents of autistic children; arranged via the website. www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support
• National Domestic Abuse Helpline (run by Refuge). A free, confidential line open day and night for women experiencing abuse at home, and for anyone worried about someone who is, with live chat in the daytime. When the fear at home is between the adults, and the children are living inside it. National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247 · 24 hours, every day; live chat Mon-Fri 10am-10pm www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
• 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
• Netmums. A large parenting forum, with drop-in boards where health visitors and other professionals reply. When what you need is other parents who have been through it. Company, not clinical advice. Support from other parents rather than professional advice. www.netmums.com/coffeehouse
• 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
• NHS Every Mind Matters. The NHS self-help hub, with a page on children’s mental health and free programmes on sleep and anxiety for you. When you want an NHS source specifically, for sleep, low mood or your own wellbeing. Light, and deliberately so. www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/supporting-others/childrens-mental-health
• NHS urgent care, out of hours. Urgent health advice when your GP surgery is closed, and a route to an out-of-hours doctor or nurse if your child needs to be seen. When you think your child may be unwell or in pain and it cannot wait for the surgery to open. For a life-threatening emergency, 999. www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-use-111
• NHS: eating disorders, advice for parents. The NHS’s own page for parents: how to raise it with your child, what to do at mealtimes, and how to look after yourself while you do. The first thing to read, before the GP appointment. www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/advice-for-parents
• NHS: mental health advice for parents and carers. The NHS’s pages for parents, in one place: anxiety, low mood, anger, bereavement, arguments with teenagers, exam stress, and how to talk about feelings. When you want the NHS’s own account before anyone else’s. www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents
• No Panic. A helpline for anxiety, panic attacks and phobias, open every day until ten at night, with a youth service by email. When panic is the shape the anxiety takes. Standard call rate. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. No Panic helpline 0300 772 9844 · Every day 10am-10pm · Youth service by email, youth@nopanic.org.uk; 24-hour recorded crisis message on 01952 680835 nopanic.org.uk
• Not Fine in School. A parent-led site on school attendance difficulties: the barriers, the SEND and mental health routes, what to say to school and where you stand legally, plus a very large peer group. When your child cannot face going in and you are being treated as the problem. Support from other parents, not professional advice. Support from other parents, not professional advice. notfineinschool.co.uk
• NSPCC. The NSPCC helpline is for adults worried about a child. You do not have to be sure, you can call anonymously, and they will tell you whether it needs to go further and help you take that step. When something has been said or seen and you do not know what to do with it. Childline, 0800 1111, is the line for a child to call themselves. NSPCC Helpline (for adults) 0808 800 5000 · Mon-Fri 10am-4pm by phone; email 11am-4pm, seven days a week. An email sent when the service is closed is not received. · If the NSPCC service is closed and the concern cannot wait, call the police on 101. You can also contact the child’s local out-of-hours children’s social care, social work or social services team. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/reporting-abuse/nspcc-helpline
• OCD Action. The UK’s OCD charity. A helpline and email service for people with OCD and their families, online support groups including ones for parents and carers, and a moderated forum. When the rituals and the reassurance-seeking have started to run the house. Standard call rate. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. OCD Action helpline 020 7253 5272 · Mon-Fri 9.30am-8pm; answerphone and call-back when not answered live ocdaction.org.uk/i-need-support
• OCD-UK. Free online workshops for parents of a child with OCD, plus support groups and a forum run by people who have lived with it. When you want to learn how to respond to OCD at home rather than feed it. Information and peer support, not treatment. Email Mon-Fri www.ocduk.org
• PAC-UK. Specialist post-adoption support, part of Family Action. An advice line staffed by adoption specialists and social workers, and a route into trauma-informed therapy. When peer support is no longer enough and the family needs clinical help, including a teenager searching for birth family. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. PAC-UK Advice Line, part of Family Action 0300 1800 090 · Mon-Wed 10am-4pm; Thu 10am-7pm; Fri 10am-1pm family-action.org.uk/get-support/pac-uk-adoption-and-special-guardianship-support
• 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
• Place2Be. Parenting Smart, written by the child mental health specialists who work in primary schools: short, practical articles and films on friendships, behaviour, worries and routines. For a child of five to eleven, when you want something you can read in ten minutes and try tonight. Place2Be’s counselling itself is only through partner schools. parentingsmart.place2be.org.uk
• Relate (part of Family Action). Relationship, family and young people’s counselling, online or at a local centre, with a short first call to see whether it fits. When the trouble is between the adults and the children are catching it. Fees apply; local centres are separate charities. Fees apply. Local Relate centres are separate charities. www.relate.org.uk
• Report Harmful Content. Help getting something taken down when you have reported it to the platform and nothing has happened: bullying, threats, impersonation, content about self-harm. After the in-app report has failed. They reply within three days. reportharmfulcontent.com
• Report Remove (from Childline and the IWF). A free, confidential tool your child can use themselves to get a nude or sexual image of themselves removed from the internet, with a Childline counsellor alongside. When an image of your child has been shared. Your child makes the report; you can sit with them while they do. www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove
• Resolution. The body for family lawyers and mediators who sign up to a non-confrontational code. Free guides on separating with children, and a directory to find a member near you. When you need a lawyer or mediator and want one committed to keeping the temperature down. The guides are free; the professionals are not. The material on the site is free. Engaging a member for legal work is not. resolution.org.uk/looking-for-help
• Royal College of Psychiatrists. Plain-English leaflets written by psychiatrists for parents on ADHD, autism, behaviour, sleep, trauma, and on how CAMHS works. When you want the professional body’s account of a condition or of what an NHS referral will involve. Reading only. www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-people
• SENAC (Special Educational Needs Advice Centre). Independent, confidential advice and advocacy for parents in Northern Ireland on special educational needs: statements, the school’s duties, and how to challenge a decision. When your child is at school in Northern Ireland and the support is not arriving. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. SENAC advice line 028 9079 5779 · Mon-Thu 10am-1pm; the days and times are posted month by month on the website · Outside those hours the line is closed. The advice pages at senac.co.uk do not close, and the school’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator is the first call on the next school day. senac.co.uk/contact-us
• SENDIASS (your local SEND information and advice service). Every local authority in England funds a free, impartial advice service for parents of children with special educational needs: SEN support, EHC assessments and plans, exclusions, and disagreements with the school. Most offer a phone line, email and drop-ins. Before anything statutory. Search your borough’s name with SENDIASS, or use the national finder. England. Each local authority runs its own; the finder lists them all. councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/about-us-0/networks/information-advice-and-support-services-network/find-your-local-ias-service
• Sibs. The charity for brothers and sisters of disabled children. Good written guidance for parents on the sibling who is quietly managing, and a site for young siblings themselves. When the well child has started to need something of their own. Reading and a contact form; there is no one to ring. Reading and a contact form. There is no one to ring. Contact by web form only www.sibs.org.uk/supporting-young-siblings/parents
• Sift (formerly Self-Injury Support). The UK’s self-harm charity. A free evening listening service by phone, text or email for anyone affected by self-harm, including parents, plus a guide written for family members. When you have found a mark and need to talk to someone who has had this conversation many times. Evenings only; outside those hours use the numbers at the top of this sheet. This service has limited helpline hours. Outside those hours, use the numbers at the top of this sheet. Sift listening support 0808 800 8088 · Phone Mon, Tue and Thu 6pm-9pm; text Mon-Fri 6pm-9pm; email answered within a week · Outside those hours the phone line is closed. The urgent routes on this page are open when it is not. sift.org.uk/get-help/listening-support-services
• SNAP Cymru. Free, independent advice for parents in Wales on additional learning needs: individual development plans, what the school and the local authority must do, and how to disagree with a decision. When your child is at school in Wales and you need someone independent to explain the ALN system and stand alongside you. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. SNAP Cymru advice line 029 2002 8466 · Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm, except public holidays · Outside those hours the line is closed. The advice pages at snapcymru.org do not close, and the school’s Additional Learning Needs Co-ordinator is the first call on the next school day. www.snapcymru.org/info-advice
• StepChange Debt Charity. Free debt advice by phone or online, and a short guide to telling children what the household cannot afford. When money is part of what is happening at home. Start online if the phone queue is long. Debt advice is the main service here. For wider money guidance, MoneyHelper is the other place to look. StepChange Helpline 0800 138 1111 · Mon-Fri 8am-8pm; Sat 9am-2pm www.stepchange.org/contact-us.aspx
• The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN). The largest UK directory of therapists of Black, African, Asian and Caribbean heritage, searchable by area and specialism. When it matters that the therapist understands your family’s cultural reference points without being taught them. A directory; BAATN does not provide the therapy itself. A directory of therapists rather than a helpline. BAATN does not provide the therapy itself. www.baatn.org.uk/find-a-psych-therapist
• The Children’s Society Young Carers Service. The Children’s Society’s young carers programme, with a finder for the young carers’ service in your area. When your child has taken on caring for someone at home. The local project is the thing to find; the phone line is mainly for professionals. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. Include (Children’s Society Young Carers) 01962 711 511 · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/young-people/young-carers
• The Fostering Network. The UK’s fostering charity. A free advice line in each nation and a large library on settling a placement, handling a child’s history and endings. At any point in a placement, from the first seventy-two hours onward. Foster carers who are members can also use a 24-hour legal helpline. Fosterline (England) and The Fostering Network advice lines 0800 040 7675 · England Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Scotland 10am-4pm; Wales 9.30am-12.30pm; Northern Ireland 9.30am-1.30pm www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/for-carers/get-advice/the-fostering-network-advice-lines
• The Giaroli Centre. A private clinic at Harley Street where children are assessed for ADHD, autism and tics by a psychiatrist, psychologist and paediatrician together, in person or by video. If you are choosing to pay for an assessment and want to see what a properly multidisciplinary one looks like. Fee-paying; ask for the fee schedule before you book. A private fee-paying clinic, named in our chapters as an example of how a good multidisciplinary assessment is put together, not as the only one. www.dr-giaroli.org/assessment-treatment/child-assessments
• The Mix. A free service for under-twenty-fives on anything at all: a twenty-four-hour crisis text line, peer chat, short-term counselling and discussion boards. Something to give your teenager rather than use yourself. The text line is there at three in the morning. For the young person rather than the parent. Crisis text 24/7; counselling, peer chat and boards by arrangement www.themix.org.uk/get-support
• The Sleep Charity. The UK’s only national sleep helpline, staffed by trained sleep advisers, covering children from a year old, including autistic and ADHD children, and teenagers. When nothing you have tried has worked and you want someone to look at the whole pattern with you. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. National Sleep Helpline 03303 530 541 · Mon-Thu 9am-11am; Mon, Tue and Thu 7pm-9pm; closed bank holidays thesleepcharity.org.uk/national-sleep-helpline
• Tourettes Action. The UK charity for tics and Tourette syndrome. A confidential helpdesk by live chat and email, webinars for parents, and resources to give the school. When tics have appeared and you want to understand them before anyone labels them. No phone number is published; chat and email are the routes. Live chat Mon-Fri 10am-3pm; email replies within 48 hours; call-backs on request www.tourettes-action.org.uk/9-helpdesk.html
• Turn2us. A free benefits calculator and a search for charitable grants your family may be entitled to, including grants for a child with a disability. When money has tightened and you do not know what help exists. www.turn2us.org.uk
• Twins Trust. The charity for families with twins, triplets or more. A free helpline, WhatsApp and webchat staffed by parents of multiples. When friends with one child cannot quite read what you are dealing with. Not for medical questions. Staffed by parents of multiples. You do not need to be a member. Twins Trust Helpline 0800 138 0509 · Mon-Thu 10am-1pm and 7pm-10pm, excluding bank holidays · WhatsApp on the same number, email and webchat during opening hours · Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. twinstrust.org/supporting-you/helpline.html
• UCAS. UCAS’s pages for parents on applications, results day, Clearing, apprenticeships and the alternatives. From Year 11 onward. Information, not advice. University admissions is the main focus. For apprenticeships in depth, apprenticeships.gov.uk is fuller. www.ucas.com/discover/advice-for-parents-guardians-and-carers
• UK Safer Internet Centre. The UK’s online safety centre, run by Childnet, the IWF and SWGfL. Their parents’ pages give age-by-age guidance and settings for each platform, written for people who have read enough alarming material. For the everyday side of online life rather than an emergency. Reading and guides; there is no parent helpline here. Guides and reading. The helpline on their site is for professionals, not parents. Email only, Mon-Fri working hours saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
• With You. Free, confidential webchat with trained recovery workers, guidance for people worried about someone else, and young people’s drug and alcohol services in many areas. When a young person’s drinking or drug use has stopped being experimental. Webchat with trained recovery workers, seven days a week www.wearewithyou.org.uk
• Women’s Aid. Written guidance you can read quietly, a directory of local refuges and services, live chat, and a site for teenagers on what a healthy relationship looks like. When you are not ready to ring anyone yet. www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support
• YoungMinds. The UK’s young people’s mental health charity, with a free Parents Helpline, webchat and email, and a plain A to Z of the things parents worry about. When you want to talk through a worry about your child with someone who has heard it before, or read a clear first explanation of a named concern. Not a crisis line. Parents Helpline 0808 802 5544 · Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am-4pm; Tue, Wed 9.30am-6pm · Webchat Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm; email parents@youngminds.org.uk · Outside those hours the parents line is closed. The urgent routes on this page are open when it is not. www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-helpline