Many children find it difficult to talk about their problems and feelings. Especially when it comes to bullying. They are afraid of being seen as “weak” and do not want to make things worse than they are by addressing it. Besides that, children can also find it scary to talk to a parent or another adult. For that reason, many children keep their problems to themselves. How nice would it be for these children to be able to talk anonymously about their experiences with bullying and other problems? In the Netherlands, we have come up with a solution for this: De Kindertelefoon (literally translated: the Childrenphone. Can also be translated as Child supportline).
De Kindertelefoon is an organization founded in 1972 and has had a free national telephone number since 1992. The goal of the Kindertelefoon is that children can talk for free and confidentially about subjects that they do not dare, cannot or do not want to discuss in their own environment. Children from 8 to 18 years old can call or chat from 11:00 to 21:00. The organization of the Kindertelefoon has about 600 volunteers who act as a listening ear. The Kindertelefoon is therefore not only for victims of bullying, but for all children with difficulties, children who need advice or simply for questions that they would normally not dare to ask.
The website of the Kindertelefoon (n.d.) contains the number and the chat box where children can chat with the volunteers. Furthermore, the website contains information for teachers, information for adults and a referral point to a support point for young adults (18 to 25 years). There is also a forum on the website where children can exchange information with each other. This forum also has a talking point about “bullying” where approximately 750 topics have been posted. Children post their stories about bullying here and ask their peers for help and advice. The forum is active and the posted topics receive many responses from others who offer support to the poster of the topic. The Kindertelefoon keeps a close eye on the forums to ensure that everyone adheres to the house rules and treats each other respectively.
The Kindertelefoon is for all children. However, the Kindertelefoon does have some rules. For example, contact with the Kindertelefoon may only be made twice a day for each child. The conversations last a maximum of 15 minutes. "The Kindertelefoon does this to keep the line free for all children, since the volunteers of the Kindertelefoon make about 1000 calls a day" (De Kindertelefoon, n.d.). This is difficult for children who need more time than 15 minutes. Fortunately, with the help of the forum, there is always a way for children to chat with others after closing time and here the children can also chat for longer than 15 minutes.
The Kindertelefoon has made a big impact for the last 45 years. The Kindertelefoon makes children feel understood and heard. The Kindertelefoon is a great principle and is well put together. It is nice to see how many volunteers participate in this organization and that the organization has a free national number so that all children can contact them. It is good that children have a contact point where they can ask for help when they are victims of bullying or for any other problems they might have. If you want to take a look at the Kindertelefoon website yourself, click on this link: https://www.kindertelefoon.nl/
Bibliography:
- De Kindertelefoon. (n.d.). Homepage. Retrieved May 14, 2025, from https://www.kindertelefoon.nl/
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