More primary school kids calling helpline over mental health

Analysis finds many feel dismissed when telling adults problems

- Syarafana Shafeeq

More primary school pupils have been calling to ask about mental health at a national helpline, showing increased awareness and curiosity about the topic.

Mental health became one of the top five most common topics that Singapore's young children anonymously asked the Tinkle Friend service in 2023, alongside issues related to school, peers and family.

Mental health-related concerns among these children—mainly aged 13 and below—include self-image struggles and emotional distress that presents as fear, anger, anxiety and low moods.

The Tinkle Friend helpline, which marks its 40th anniversary in 2024, was launched by Singapore Children's Society in 1984 for primary school children who needed a listening ear. An online chat service was added in 2014 amid the growing usage of digital devices.

Over the past decade, Tinkle Friend has handled more than 46,000 chats and calls. It has served an average of 5,200 chats and calls annually for the past five years. This is a 32 per cent increase compared with the preceding five years, which had an average of 3,900 chats and calls.

From 2015 to 2020, casual chitchat was the main and most common topic for the children, a spokesman for Singapore Children's Society told The Sunday Times. This refers to the children talking about their day, their hobbies, or sharing jokes.

"Underlying the chit-chat is also a sense of loneliness where the children have no one else that they can turn to and a desire for connection," he said.

Among the children who called or chatted with Tinkle Friend in 2020, almost half were upper primary school pupils aged 10 to 12.