At Childline we're always here for children, even on Christmas Day
Igor has been answering Childline calls for over 14 years, helping young people who are struggling. He knows that many children will be isolated at home during the Christmas holidays, alone with their feelings and possibly the very people who could do them most harm. He’s here, whatever their worry and whatever they need to talk about.
"Christmas time is seen as the time for meeting with families and being together, just relaxing and eating. Sadly this isn’t the case for everyone. We have a lot of young people who use Childline on Christmas Day, with a mixture of different issues they talk to us about.
"A lot of young people, where they feel really lonely, call and say, 'I don't want to be alone on Christmas, so Childline is my only family."
A lot of issues children and young people face are related to Christmas itself in one way or another.
Stripping it back, a lot of the issues we see are the usual ones, such as mental health and family relationships, but they can become intensified at Christmas. Some young people really struggle to cope, which can lead to self-harm and feeling suicidal."