RTÉ’s new series focuses on youth subcultures such as skinheads and mods.

Young people would rather use social media or talk online to people they do not know than have a conversation face to face, research has suggested.

Children’s rights groups have warned that many families still have to “fight the system” every day to secure adequate services, just as the foster carers of a girl abandoned at birth vied to get the full range of supports she needed.

The ISPCC has said the Tom Humphries case was an example of how a new cyber safety strategy was needed, and believes that it should be implemented by the Taoiseach’s department.

The charity behind Childline has said the phone service has received an increasing number of calls from children concerned about homelessness.

Children are spending up to five hours a day online and engaging in dangerous activity such as sexting, with their parents unaware of the dangers.

Rob Heffernan kicks off the Lifestyle Sports ’Run in The Dark’ in association with the Mark Pollock Trust in Cork City on Wednesday evening

Social media awareness campaigns help to keep the memories of missing children alive, according to the ISPCC.

More than 3,000 children who called Childline last year had serious mental health needs and more than 500 were described as being “in crisis”, it has emerged.

The ISPCC is “very hopeful” that the Government will intervene to save the Childline 24-hour helpline for children in crisis.

Howlin pledges to raise the issue of finding the €600k to keep the helpline serviced 24 hours a day

Ryan Tubridy has urged Taoiseach Enda Kenny to "man up" and "have the decency" to find the money to save the Childline 24-hour helpline for children in crisis.

Despite Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s pledge to safeguard children as a "national priority", the only 24-hour helpline for children in crisis faces closure in January due to a lack of funding.

Childline says 45,000 calls will go unanswered next year as it is forced to stop its night service.

The plummeting public faith in charities in the wake of the Rehab and Central Remedial Clinic scandals has threatened the future of Childline’s 24-hour help-line, says the ISPCC.

The ISPCC has warned that its 24-hour Childline service is at risk because of plunging donations since the Central Remedial Clinic and Rehab controversies hit the charity sector.

Children as young as two years old can be taught basic skills to help keep them safe from sexual predators, according to child protection groups.

Mother of young victim details family anguish as man gets life sentences for rape of girls, aged 6 and 9

IF you don’t want your children to spend the mid-term break on their smartphones or iPads, you’d better get organised.

Child welfare groups have called for slapping to be outlawed after a survey found two in five parents admit to hitting their child.

A total of 57% of Irish adults would support a ban on slapping children, according to a recent survey.

A doctor is appealing to parents to be on the lookout for signs that their children could be involved in a dangerous activity called the choking or fainting game.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has described the mistreatment of children uncovered at three creches for an RTÉ documentary as emotional abuse.

Nearly five million children contacted Childline over the last 25 years but a third of them did not have their calls answered.

The ISPCC plans to expand its online response to contacts from troubled children after figures for its Childline service showed a growing number of young people using its website.

Management at a concert venue have apologised to a photographer after she was verbally abused and reduced to tears by comedian Billy Connolly.

Members of a 2,000-strong audience have expressed their shock after comedian Billy Connolly told an award-winning photographer she was “a fucking c**t”.

More than 3,000 children who reported they were sexually abused last year cannot access therapy from the HSE — unless they live in Dublin or Limerick.

Child welfare groups last night warned that new watchdog reports indicating foster children were still at risk of being placed in inappropriate settings was a case of “putting budgets before children”.

Allowing those under the age of 15 to have unfettered access to the internet is akin to giving them the keys to a car and then wondering why they have crashed, a leading cyberbullying expert has said.

Cork colours did well at last Sunday’s Clonakilty Show — with a red and white Holstein winning a top championship.

There has been an alarming rise in the number of child neglect cases being investigated by the HSE.

Child protection organisations and senior gardaí have urged parents to monitor their children’s use of computers and smartphones after a video of a 14-year-old girl posing semi-naked was posted on the internet.

A girl hugging her teddy stares into the camera and says: “I’m not just a stupid little bitch, I’m a nobody.”

Around six out of 10 adults would feel nervous or unsure about, or would not report, a suspected case of child abuse or neglect.

Employers who work with children and vulnerable adults must be aware that vetting rules are not as robust as they should be and they may not have the “complete picture” about employees, according to the Department of Health.

CHARITIES have declared the past year one of their toughest ever, as they faced record demand for services while public donations came under severe strain.

CHILDREN routinely leave themselves open to paedophiles trawling for online victims, a study has shown, heightening fears for child safety on the internet.

CUTBACKS by the HSE to child and family support services would be a significantly shortsighted measure and a possible reaction to financial mismanagement and overspending in other areas of the services, the head of a leading children’s charity has warned.

PROPOSALS over the vetting of people working with children should include a requirement that people are re-vetted every three years, an Oireachtas Committee heard yesterday.

THE Childline service which receives 2,300 calls and messages every day from worried young people may not be operating from next year onwards, the ISPCC warned yesterday.

THERE has been a widespread welcome from children’s groups to the announcement by the new Minister for Children that she will be removing child protection services from the HSE and establishing a stand-alone agency.

THE country’s main helpline for children was swamped with callers over the holiday period with over 1,000 children contacting the service on Christmas Day.

Childline received 1,005 calls, texts and emails from children and young people on Christmas Day yesterday, an 11% increase on last year.

CO CORK’S Terelton club in the Muskerry region dominated the Macra beef and sheep stockjudging competition sponsored by Bord Bia.

A children’s charity admitted today it was struggling to reach out to vulnerable teenagers who were calling for emotional support in record numbers.