Boys are starting to talk about problems

Boys are finally starting to seek help for their problems, but there is still along way to go, finds a new report out today.

The NSPCC report, What boys talk about to ChildLine, found that the number of boys across the UK calling the dedicated helpline has increased five fold, but they are statistically a long way behind the number of girls who phone in.

The south west centre in Exeter counselled 707 boys from across the UK last year, compared to 554 just five years ago.

Bullying was the top problem for boys, with 22 per cent of the calls related to this issue.

Other main problems include family relationship, physical and sexual abuse.
The number of boys across the UK calling the helpline needing help dealing with feeling lonely, sad and isolated has increased from 334 five years ago to a whopping 1,817.

More than 6,000 rang about serious emotional family stress and 5,363 wanted to know about the facts of life.

Children’s services manager for ChildLine’s base in Exeter, Cheryl Marshall, said: “The increase in the number of boys calling ChildLine could be due to notions of masculinity changing, meaning that there’s no longer so much pressure to be macho, which has led to more boys feeling able to ask for help.  However we still get far fewer calls from boys than girls, so we need to reach out to boys and encourage them to speak out.
 
“Sometimes you have to work hard to get boys to open up.  But once they do, they’re surprised that someone’s there listening to them.

“Not all the boys tell us whether they have spoken out about their problems before.  But nearly half of those who did said they hadn’t told anyone before calling ChildLine. 

“The research would suggest that there is a need for alternative and innovative ways to engage with boys and their problems.  So in response, the NSPCC aims to develop the existing ChildLine and NSPCC Helpline services to offer additional support through new technologies, such as the web and mobile phones.”