Summer holidays

Everybody feels lonely sometimes, but it can get harder over the summer holidays.

Try to keep in touch with people you care about in person or online, you can share how you’re feeling on the message boards as well with other people going through the same thing. It can also help to share how you’re feeling with someone you trust.

It can help to keep a routine over the holidays, especially with your sleep. It’s important to try and sleep at night and get up in the morning, even if you don’t have to get up for anything in particular. Keeping a healthy routine can help you to feel better and more able to cope.

If you’re struggling with your feelings, remember that you can speak to Childline any time.

Spending a lot of time at home can sometimes lead to arguments with your family or the people you live with, especially if you already don’t get on.

If you’re getting angry or struggling to get on with people at home, it can help to:

• Take some time for yourself, either by going somewhere else in the house or for a walk if it’s safe to
• Practice ways of being assertive to say what you want without being aggressive
• Stay calm, you can’t control what someone else does but there are lots of ways to control your anger
• Talk to us about it or tell someone you trust

Even if you’re arguing, you should always feel safe where you live. If you’re worried about getting hurt, you can talk to us or call 999 in an emergency.

Starting a new relationship can be exciting. It might be something just for the summer, or you could want it to carry on forever.

We’ve got lots of advice to help if you’re thinking about your new relationship, it can also help to get advice from other young people on the message boards.

Whether they’re only online or in person as well, relationships shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable. And you should never feel like they have to be secret. It can help to find out more about what makes a relationship healthy or unhealthy, and to talk to someone you trust if you’re not sure.

If you ever get hurt, threatened or feel unsafe you can get support. You deserve to feel safe, and you can talk to a Childline counsellor about what’s happening any time.

It can help to make a safety plan of who to talk to and what to do in an emergency, and to think about safe people you can stay with if you need to.

Being taken abroad

If you’re worried about being taken abroad to get married, or because your family wants you to be cut, circumcised or for FGM then we can support you. Call us on 0800 1111 or talk to us online any time.

If you’re being taken to an airport, you can speak to any member of staff at any time and tell them that you’re worried. They’re there to keep you safe and you’ve not done anything wrong.

In an emergency, you should always call 999.

The holidays can be boring if you’re not sure what to do. Or if you’ve got things to do but don’t want to do any of them.

Everybody’s different, but here are a few ideas to help you beat the boredom:

• Get outside
  If you’re allowed then go out for a walk, run or play some sports. You could try learning about different plants or places near where you live.
• Make a routine
  Plan what you’ll do each day and try to stick to it, include things that give you a sense of achievement or helps you feel positive.
• Learn a new skill
  Learn origami, take up sewing or try to pick up another language. Not sure what you want to try? Share ideas on the message boards.
• Help out at home
  Ask whether there are jobs of things you can do at home to help your family or carers.
• Get creative
  Write, draw or make something completely new. Try learning a new dance or song. The possibilities are endless.

If you’re trying new things, it can help to keep track of what you’ve been doing. You could write about what’s gone well, what you liked or didn’t, and what you could improve next time.