Almost half of helpline's 7,000 calls in 2025 come from parents afraid of their children

'Many parents are fearful. They talk about spending the festive season walking on eggshells.' File photo

Ireland’s national parent support helpline has taken approximately 7,000 calls this year, many from parents who are afraid of their children. 

Parentline chief executive Aileen Hickie said the increased time parents spend with their children is “like a pressure cooker” over the festive holiday period. 

Ms Hickie said 43% of all calls to Parentline this year were from parents who are afraid of their own child. Ms Hickie said: “Calls relating to anger and aggression continue to be the standout issue for parents ringing the helplines.

“The calls are in relation to abusive behaviours being experienced by parents at the hands of their own children, living in their own homes. This can be a particularly worrying time for parents who are concerned with this issue as existing problems are amplified,” she said.

“Many parents are fearful. They talk about spending the festive season walking on eggshells."

She added: “Parents who are already experiencing the issue of child-to-parent violence are often afraid that this issue will intensify when families are cooped up together for long periods of time, and there is a change in routine.

“The festive period with its lack of structure can be tough on families where there are harmful behaviours.

“Parentline offers information, support, and guidance in relation to this issue and all parenting issues and the message to parents is that it’s okay to ask for help and the sooner you ask for help the better you will feel.” 

Other issues

Last January, the charity noted that parents were increasingly concerned about the negative impact social media was having on children as young as nine.

Calls relating to social media jumped tenfold while more parents than ever called about easy access to pornography.

Concerns about pornographic videos and photographs that children viewed on phones or other smart devices increased from 28 calls in 2023 to 80 in 2024.

The other issue parents are increasingly worried about is vaping, with the issue accounting for 3% of calls in 2024 compared to just 1% the year before.

Call volume

Calls to the charity, which was set up in 1982 as a support group for parents but also grew into a national helpline, have been increasing steadily since 2019 when it handled approximately 3,000 calls annually.

Parentline is expecting another record increase in the number of calls this year, with figures set to top 7,000. 

Last year's tally of calls was a 5% increase to 6,461 compared with 6,147 in 2023, when calls were up on 5,857 received in 2022. 

• ​The Parentline helpline, 01 8733500, is open New Year’s Eve and January 2 from 10am-7pm, and 10am to 12pm on New Year's Day.
• The website is parentline.ie