MY family, like so many others, have so far spent the summer holidays on days out to the seaside and the odd trip to the cinema.

At times, these new old experiences have felt very strange, an assault on the senses even. And I realised that together we needed to talk about how we felt about coming out of lockdown, how difficult it is to get back to feeling some kind of ‘normal’ when so much has happened. The pandemic turned all our lives upside down. The toll emotionally on many children has been horrendous and the effects on their mental health, whilst yet to be fully understood, could be long-lasting.

We worked so hard and spent a lot of emotional energy in finding ways to get through lockdown, and it can be hard to leave the fragile security we managed to find.We know from contacts to our Childline service that many children have been worried about their emotional health, in the last financial year our Childline volunteers delivered 73,088 counselling sessions about mental health. Talking with our children about emotions and the way we feel can be hard at the best of times. But the need to talk about our feelings has been underlined after an incredibly difficult week; for our children world events like the situation in Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti and at home the tragic shooting in Plymouth can be not only upsetting but confusing too. As parents, it can be difficult to think about how to talk about such harrowing events whilst reassuring your children. At Childline we recognise how important it is for our children and young people to find out more about what’s happening in the world, to explore their online world to keep connected and for learning. But it’s also important for children to know there is support and understanding if they should see something upsetting in the News or online.

If your child is struggling with mental wellbeing, remain calm and listen to their concerns. Our Childline counsellors talk about the importance of sharing concerns with a trusted adult. When we worry about the world it can cause children and young people to imagine bad things happening all the time. It’s okay to feel down but it’s important to talk and make sense of things. The Childline moderated message boards are a safe platform for children and young people to express themselves and get support from peers.

There’s a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment. And there won’t always be answers to questions your children are asking. Knowing how to talk to them about their mental health, or recognising signs that they might be struggling, can be hard. Signs of anxiety can sometimes look like normal behaviour, if you’ve noticed signs of behaving differently and you’d like support call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 8005000. For young people worried about coming out of lockdown or world events contact Childline.org.uk or 0800 1111.