ABSTRACT
ChildLine is a telephone helpline for children and young people. Most people associate it with child abuse and bullying, and it is true that together with family problems these constitute the greater part of ChildLine’s work. A number of other problems contribute a small percentage of the total calls, but because the numbers calling are so large, these small percentages represent large numbers of calls. They include about 5000 calls each year about physical and mental health problems. From the computerised call summaries and the original case notes we can learn a great deal about what young people are saying.
