Ask Sam

Something on your mind? Or need some support?

Anyone can write in with their problem. I respond to a few letters each week. You can also read my advice to people who have similar problems to you.

Ask me a question

You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I would be especially interested in hearing more about how coronavirus might have affected you at home and at school.

Write me a letter

What you need to know:

Sam reads every letter, but can only respond to a few each week
Sam's replies are public, never private, so others can read them
Sam will remove personal info from your letter to keep it anonymous
if yours is chosen, you'll see it under one of the topics below
if you need support now or want to talk privately, contact a Childline counsellor.

Confidentiality

Ask Sam keeps the same confidentiality promise as Childline. This means that if I feel you're in danger, Childline might tell someone to get you help.

latest letters

Face masks and sensory issues.

we have to wear masks in school now because or coronavirus. i have sensory processing disorder so the feeling of the ...

STARTING SECONDARY

Dear sam i have just left y6 and i am finding it very hard to cope with the fact that i couldnt see my friends and i ...

my cousin

Hi sam, yesterday I was with a group of my cousins and we were playing hide-and-Seek inside. One of my guy cousins ...

Bullying in sports and at school

Dear Sam, I‘m always the one no one likes. Even on the first day of the year, I was always the centre of hate. They w...

am I a bad person?

hi sam, i was groped by a man that i did mot know a long time ago, and this has made it extremely hard to want to be ...

Living with a diabetic.

Dear Sam, I live with a Type 1 Diabetic. They are my sibling and looking after them with the help from my parents is ...

Counsellor's Notes

Hi Sam. I was just curious to know, when you ask a counsellor to read your notes, what exactly are they looking at? I...

Masterbating

Hi, I am so angry with myself, I am 11 and watching porn and masterbating and I'm feeling ugly and disgusting... I fe...

Message from Sam

You can write to me about anything you want and I read every single message sent. I can only reply to a few each week and I always do this in public on my page. I’m sorry if I don’t answer your letter but it’s likely there are others just like it that I have answered before. If you want a definite response or need support then talking to a Childline counsellor is the best way to do that.

Write me a letter

Show

Counsellor's Notes

Hi Sam. I was just curious to know, when you ask a counsellor to read your notes, what exactly are they looking at? I...

Do Childline tell people what we talk about?

hey sam i was just wondering, if i talk about self harm will childline tell anyone about it like my parents or school...

Accidentally breaking house rules on message boards

Hi sam I keep accidentally breaking house rules and don't want to get kicked off the boards any advice will help Thanks

Confidentiality

if someone says they dont want to live anymore do you have to tell someone. and how would you get the infomation

Phone numbers

Hi sam, If i call childline do they remember my phone number in any way? Do they have some kind of log of phone numbe...

Hiding 1-2-1 chat from my parents

Hi Sam, I frequently use the online 1-2-1 chats, but I don't want my parents to know. I do use Private Browsing, and ...

Does Childline call the police?

if you call childline, do you call the police

childline outside the UK

is there any possibility to talk to childline from outside of the uk? I feel more comfortable to talk about it in eng...

These letters are unhelpful

Hi, I have read your reply to my letter and other people's letters. All I have to say is that you are unhelpful all y...

The confidentiality of Childline

hello, i would like to talk to a counseller about some things that are worrying me but before i do so i would like to...

Can I contact childline at my dads

Hi Sam! I have parents who live in 2 different countries (different continents too) and I spend all my holidays in Du...

Contacting Childline and my Parents

Dear sam, ive written a couple of times before but i have a question that really needs answering. i want to talk to c...

After Turning 19

Hi I am wondering about how much of childlines services will still be available to me after I turn 19. I have been us...

am i wasting the counsellor’s time?

Hey Sam, recently I feel like I'm wasting the counsellor’s time as when they try get to the bottom of why im depresse...

Can you call Childline outside of the UK?

i was thinking about calling child line, then i realized that its only for the U.K. , i was wondering if there is a c...

Contacting Childline

Hi Sam, I am not in need of contacting Childline but wondered if you could answer my question in case I ever have to ...

Wordings in emails to Childline

Hey Sam, I was just wondering whether it's ok to write emails in a less straightforward sense. I personally find gett...

What do childine workers think??

Hi Sam, I’ve been wondering lately what the people at childine think about what you tell them. do they wonder why som...

How often can we talk to counsellors

hi sam, im just wandering how many times we can talk to a counsillor so if i have just had a conversation about somet...

What is okay to talk to Childline about?

Hi Sam, I have some questions about Childline. What sort of reason would you say is valid to contact Childline, as I ...

How does the Childline email system work?

Hello Sam, I am wondering how Childline's email system work, as with a regular email system like Gmail and Hotmail yo...

I'm worried the counselor isn't nice

Hello I would like to call Childline since my I no longer see my real therapist. The only thing I'm not sure about is...

Will I be judged when I talk to Childline?

Sometimes i come here and want to talk about some small things but im worried ill be judged and feel like i wasted th...

can childline read your mood journal

Is it okay to leave a chat?

would the counsellors be mad if you accidently left a 1-2-1 chat? would it make them feel like you are a waste of tim...