Keeping You and Your Child Safe + Mental Health and Wellbeing

Safety in the home

If you are concerned that a child is being abused or neglected, you can access guidance on reporting your concern from Tusla and find the contact details for the social worker in your area.

‘A Stone Unturned’ is a guide for families of children who have experienced sexual abuse. This guide was developed by the HSE.

Comprehensive guidance on child safety in the home is available from the HSE. More information available at HSE.ie/Safety

If you think your child has been poisoned, call Public Poisons Information Line at 01 809 2166. The National Poisons Information Centre also provide poison prevention tips.

If you are a victim of domestic or sexual violence it is important to know that you are not alone and there are a range of services dealing with domestic and sexual violence available to support and assist you. Information on supports provided by State agencies and the voluntary sector are contained within the Department of Justice/Always Here Campaign.

Information on support services for women is available from Tusla - Child and Family Agency.

Safe Ireland works to create confident, competent community-based responses to domestic, sex, gender and sexuality-based violence, wherever it occurs. Safe Ireland assists with the provision of effective pathways out of coercive control for women, for young people and children. Details on local helplines around the country along with information and resources for those experiencing domestic violence are available on the Safe Ireland website.

Women’s Aid is a national organisation which works to prevent and address the impacts of domestic violence and abuse. The Women’s Aid national freephone helpline can be contacted at any time by calling 1800 341900, or by email to helpline@womensaid.ie.

Further resources along with access to Instant Message Support can be found by visiting the Women's Aid website.

Information on support services for men is available from Men's Aid Ireland.

CARI is a professional, child-centred therapy and support service to children, families, and groups who have been affected by child sexual abuse or to children under 12 who are displaying sexually harmful behaviours. Visit CARI website

The ISPCC Support Line provides a confidential email and phone listening service, offering information, advice and emotional support to individuals who have family relationship or parenting needs, as well as those who may have concerns in relation to children. More information available at ISPCC.ie

The Webwise Parents Hub provides practical advice for parents on online safety. The Parents Hub features expert advice from professionals, information on privacy and parental control, cyberbullying, popular apps, and so on. More information available at Webwise Parents Hub.

The Council of Europe has produced a digital parenting guide providing guidance for the online protection of children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. More information available at Parenting in the Digital Age.

The National Parents Council (NPC) provide a number of online programmes to help and support parents. The Internet Safety Programme provides parents with the strategies to help their children to be responsible, effective and safer internet users. This session also looks at cyber bullying and setting rules and boundaries around children’s internet usage.

You can access this online session by clicking here.

Children’s Mental Health

Helpful information on topics such as anxiety, sleep, low mood and accessing appropriate supports and services can be found on mychild.ie. Click herefor more information.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is a HSE service which provides assessment and treatment for young people and their families who are experiencing mental health difficulties. Further information on CAMHS supports are available here.

Information on the various mental health services available to support children and young people including GP, primary care services, specialist services and private and non-profit organisations can be found on Citizens Information by clicking here.

Early Childhood Ireland (ECI) have published a series of articles which aims to address mental health and well-being concerns impacting young children in the post Covid-19 climate. These articles are targeted at families and early year’s educators and further information is available by clicking here.

Jigsaw provide a variety of resources in the area of youth mental health. These supports include eLearning, face to face services and talk online support. Further information is available here.

The Parenting Hub on the ISPCC website publishes articles in relation to parenting and parenting support on a range of helpful articles covering topics including managing your child’s anxiety, building your child’s resilience, online safety, introducing a new step-parent to your children, maintaining positive contact with your child after a separation and many more can be found on the ISPCC Parent Hub by clicking here.

Parent’s Mental Health

From Lads to Dads provide a confidential support network to fathers and soon to be fathers. Initiatives dedicated to support fathers include in-person/online support, dad led peer to peer support, resource provision and the From Paternity to Birth and Beyond Programme. More information is available on the From Lads to Dads website.

The Supporting Traveller Families Mental Health Document was developed by the HSE Mental Health Services in collaboration with a number of Traveller representative organisations. This resource aims to support the mental health and wellbeing of Traveller families by providing parents with information on key support services for children and young people, as well as the dedicated supports which are available to Traveller families.

The Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service offer a range of supports for Traveller families across the areas of family support/crisis intervention, addiction services, education/training and children and young people services. Further information on these services can be found on the Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service website.

Pieta House offer help to those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or engaging in self-harm through their national network of crisis, therapy and bereavement support services. Further information is available on the Pieta House website and 24/7 crisis support is available by calling 1800 247247. Support is also available by texting “help” to 51444.

Samaritans Ireland offer emotional support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to anyone who is lonely, in distress, struggling to cope or feeling suicidal. Contact a volunteer by calling the freephone helpline on 116 123, or by sending an email to jo@samaritans.ie. Further information can be found on the Samaritans website.

Mental Health in Pregnancy

It is just as important to be aware of and have treatment for mental health problems as it is for physical health problems in pregnancy. You can find information on mental health in pregnancy and the National Programme for Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services at HSE.ie

Wellbeing Advice for parents of young children is available from mychild.ie.

Barnardos bring together a range of resources to support parents and their families in taking care of their Heart, Body and Mind. More information available at Barnardos.ie.

Cycling Ireland have some helpful tips on how to teach your child to cycle. Find more information at Cycling Ireland.

Let's Play Ireland is a Department of Children, Disability and Equality initiative designed to promote the importance of play among all people, young and old. The website includes a wide range of creative play ideas for both indoor and outdoor play activities for children of all ages.

The START campaign from safefood, the HSE and Healthy Ireland provides information and tips to support families on the importance of healthy eating, exercise and establishing good sleep routines. More information available at safefood.ie/START

Healthy Ireland’s “Healthy Eating Guidelines for 1-4 year olds” aim to help parents establish healthy eating habits. A Youtube video outlining the advice is available below.

Learn more about the health eating guidelines here.

Bodywhys are a national voluntary organisation who support people affected by eating disorders. Bodywhys works to ensure support, awareness and understanding of eating disorders amongst the wider community as well as advocating for the rights and healthcare needs of people affected by eating disorders. The Bodywhys national helpline can be contacted by calling 01-2107906, or by emailing alex@bodywhys.ie.

Bodywhys have developed free resources to assist parents and families who may be having difficulties in addressing or understanding their child’s eating disorder.

Further information is available on the Bodywhys website.