The Parent Book.
Therapist-written support for parents
Urgent help

Urgent helpWho to call, and when

If you need help right now.

If you or your child is in immediate danger, call 999. If either you or your child is in a mental health crisis, call NHS 111 and choose the mental-health option in England, Scotland and Wales, or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 in Northern Ireland. The rest of the list is below, and none of it asks you to be certain before you use it.

It is the list we keep at the foot of every chapter, here on its own so it can be found from a printed sheet or a phone without reading anything else first.

If you need help right now Tap for helplines
If you need help right now
If you or your child is in immediate danger999 · Go to your nearest A&E · 24/7
If either you or your child is in a mental health crisisNHS 111 · England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 · 24/7
If your child is under 19 and needs to talk to someone themselvesChildline · 0800 1111 · 24/7
If you are worried that a child is being harmed or is at riskNSPCC Helpline · 0808 800 5000 · Mon-Fri 10am-4pm by phone; email 11am-4pm, seven days a week. An email sent when the service is closed is not received. · help@nspcc.org.uk · If the NSPCC service is closed and the concern cannot wait, call the police on 101. You can also contact the child’s local out-of-hours children’s social care, social work or social services team. If a child is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you would prefer to text rather than speakShout · Text SHOUT to 85258 · 24/7
If you or someone you are worried about needs someone to talk toSamaritans · 116 123 · 24/7

Two more routesOnline, or at home

If someone online has asked your child for pictures, personal details or to meet, or there is a sexual image of a child, leave everything as it is: don’t reply, look further, copy, forward or delete. If they are asking for money, don’t pay. Report it that day. If your child is in immediate danger, call 999.

CEOP (the police’s online child protection command) · ceop.police.uk/safety-centreThe National Crime Agency’s child protection command. Report grooming or sexual abuse online here; a child protection adviser reads every report and will contact you.
Internet Watch Foundation · iwf.org.uk/en/uk-reportThe UK hotline that gets sexual images of children removed from the internet. The report is online, anonymous and free.
Report Remove (from Childline and the IWF) · childline.org.ukA free, confidential tool for under-18s to get a nude or sexual image of themselves removed from the internet, with Childline counsellors there if they want to talk.

Grooming from a fake account is still a CEOP report. CEOP cannot take reports about bullying, fake accounts or hacking on their own; for those, the NSPCC Helpline above.

If you are frightened of your partner, or of your child’s other parent, call one of these lines. If anyone is in danger now, call 999.

National Domestic Abuse Helpline (run by Refuge) · 0808 2000 247 · 24 hours, every day; live chat Mon-Fri 10am-10pm, weekends 10am-6pm · nationaldahelpline.org.ukA free, confidential line open day and night for women experiencing abuse at home, and for anyone worried about someone who is, with live chat too.
Men’s Advice Line (run by Respect) · 0808 801 0327 · Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; webchat Mon-Fri 9am-10am · mensadviceline.org.ukA free, confidential advice line and webchat for men experiencing abuse at home.
Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline · 0800 027 1234 · 24 hours, every day · sdafmh.org.ukA free line open day and night in Scotland, for anyone experiencing domestic abuse or forced marriage and for the family and friends supporting them, with email and web chat too.
Live Fear Free (Wales) · 0808 80 10 800 · 24 hours, every day; also by text, email and live chat · gov.wales/live-fear-freeThe Welsh Government’s free helpline, open day and night by phone, text, email and live chat, for anyone experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence and anyone who knows someone who is.
Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline (Northern Ireland) · 0808 802 1414 · 24 hours, every day · nidirect.gov.ukA free line open day and night in Northern Ireland, for men and women affected by domestic or sexual abuse, answered by trained advisers.

If you can’t speak when you call 999 from a mobile, press 55 when asked. If someone checks your phone, call from one they can’t see.

Two guidesFor the next hour

If you are frightened that your child is thinking about suicide, or you have found a self-harm injury, there is a guide for each. You do not need an account to open them. Each takes you through what to do, one question at a time.

AfterwardsWhen the moment has passed

The Parent Book is a library written by therapists, for parents. If what brought you here is something you are living with rather than something happening tonight, the library may be a place to start. Look through it, or ask your school about it.