More children as young as 8 calling helplines to talk about stress

Children and young adults who call helplines like Kindertelefoon and Alles Oké? often do so to talk about stress. "We are noticing that children and young adults are experiencing a lot of pressure right now. From school and studying, but also from parents," said Roline de Wilde, director of the organization that operates the De Kindertelefoon and the Alles Oké? support lines.

According to the organization, children from the age of 8 are already making contact to talk about stress. The Kindertelefoon looked at data from telephone calls and chats over the past year. The content of 100 anonymized chats and 55 forum topics from 2021 and 2022 were also analyzed as part of a sample.

Most children who make contact about stress are girls and young women. Children and young people are especially looking for tips to deal with or stress, or avoid stressful situations. The conversations show that children and young people cannot express their concerns to people in their own environment, according to De Kindertelefoon.

De Wilde said that stress in young adults often goes hand in hand with mental problems. "For example, they miss exams due to depression or are afraid they will not pass the academic year,” De Wilde stated.

“We also see that young adults are very concerned about their future. They lack perspective about a job, study or relationship."