Enter the waiting room

We’ve got great advice and things you can do while you wait

Use our website to stay calm or distract yourself

You could play a game, use the Art box or read our info and advice

Speak to a counsellor

You can talk to the counsellor about whatever you want to

Sometimes chats might cut off in areas without a stable 4G or Wifi connection.

You might not be able to get through to the same counsellor as before, but if you still need help you could enter the queue for another chat. If you need to get through quickly you can call us for free on 0800 1111.

If you don’t want to talk again, there are still lots of ways to get support. You could try using the message boards, or writing an email to a counsellor.

Calling Childline for free on 0800 1111 is usually faster than starting a 1-2-1 chat. Talking on the phone can be scary sometimes, but our counsellors are here to support you.

If you can’t call and you don’t have time to wait, there are lots of things you can do on Childline:

• talk to other young people on the message boards
• send a message to a counsellor from your locker
• let your feelings out with the mood journal
• find ways to cope with the Calm Zone.

In an emergency, you should always call 999.

Talking to Childline is confidential. This means that whatever you say stays between you and Childline. We would only need to say or do something if:

• you ask us to
• we believe your life or someone else's life is in danger
• you're being hurt by someone in a position of trust who is able to hurt other children -  like a teacher, religious leader, sports coach, police officer or doctor
• you tell us that you're seriously hurting another person
• you tell us about another child who's being hurt and is not able to tell someone or understand what is happening to them
• we're told we have to by law, for example for a court case.

Find out more about our confidentiality promise.