Over 1000 children, parents reach out to govt helpline to tackle COVID woes

New Delhi: From facing loneliness in the COVID-19 isolation ward to exhibiting aggressive behaviour after parents contracted the virus, over 1,000 children and parents have reached out to the government helpline seeking help.

With an objective of providing psychological first-aid and emotional support to children affected during the pandemic, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)is providing tele-counselling to children through SAMVEDNA(Sensitising Action on Mental Health Vulnerability through Emotional Development and Necessary Acceptance) – a toll-free helpline launched to provide psycho-social mental support for affected children.

According to Women and Child Development Ministry officials, redressal of 1,009 complaints have been done between September 2020 to May 7, 2021.

In a case from a COVID-19 isolation centre in Aurangabad, a 15-year-old child expressed frustration over not getting enough love from parents due to more siblings and called up to talk about her parents’ pressure of getting her married of early.

The counsellor spoke to the child and her parents and suggested encouraging her to focus on academics. In another case, the parent of a six-year-old child in Kanpur called to discuss the aggressive behaviour of their child who was lodged in an isolation centre after contracting the virus.

The counsellor suggested that the child engages in different activities like narrating stories or playing with toys. It was found that as the parents were keeping to themselves after the family tested positive, the child was feeling lonely and exhibiting aggressive behaviour.

A 17-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli isolation centre called up and talked about being scared of loneliness. The counsellor advised him to spend time engaging in activities he is interested in and making a regular routine to get away from boredom.

This tele-counselling service is available on a toll-free number 1800-121-2830 from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 8 pm and is exclusively for children who are willing to talk and are in need of counselling. When a child/caretaker/parent dials SAMVEDNA, they get to speak to a professional counsellor in a safe environment. Tele-counselling is provided to children under three categories: children who are in quarantine/isolation/COVID care centres, children who have COVID positive parents or family members, and children who have lost their parents due to the pandemic.

This service caters to children from all over India in various regional languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, the Women and Child Development Ministry said.

This service was launched in September 2020 and aims to support children in the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic.