For every £1 we spend, 86p helps children and families

Families are at breaking point

Parents are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and like they have nowhere to turn. Parent Talk provides vital support to parents and carers around the UK. Anyone can use our advice articles or talk to a parenting coach one-to-one for free. This service can only exist thanks to your generous donations. If you’ve found our advice helpful, please help us reach more parents by giving what you can.

"I have a toddler and feel like I’m on a ride I can’t get off. I feel like I can’t get back to normal after the pandemic, I’m still anxious about going out and feel so isolated and depressed."

Parent supported by Parent Talk

The fall-out from Covid is going to take years to process and with the added stresses of food and fuel price rises, it’s almost a perfect storm of parental pressure. This could have a huge impact on the life chances of our children. The Parent Talk team is there for the growing numbers of parents and carers that need help.

Many of the families we work with face challenges that make parenting even harder. Some don’t have enough money or a safe and secure place to live. Others have to deal with domestic abuse, physical or mental ill-health. Looking after a child by yourself or becoming a parent at a young age can also be hard.

We cannot ignore a problem which leaves parents without the support they need to ensure their children enjoy a safe and happy childhood

“The parenting coach was absolutely brilliant. They helped me so much with great advice, links for more support and giving me the confidence that I am on the right tracks with my son. It’s like a weight has been lifted, knowing that I can access free support at such a high level. I cannot recommend and thank them enough.”

Feedback from a parent

We support parents and carers with:

  • Children’s mental health.
  • Their own mental health.
  • Special educational needs and disabilities.
  • Co-parenting after separation.
  • Abusive or coercive relationships.
  • Meeting emotional needs.
  • Managing behaviour.

Donate now to help us continue our work.

Every day through Parent Talk we hear heart-breaking stories of children struggling. Parents are desperately trying to help support their children but are often feeling utterly overwhelmed with nowhere to turn. Desperate to do the right thing, but not knowing what that is.

Lynn Giles, Parent Talk Manager at Action for Children

More about our work

We protect and support children and young people. We do this by providing practical and emotional care and support. We make sure their voices are heard. And we campaign to bring lasting improvements to their lives.

Today, we run 447 services in local communities across the UK, in schools and online.

In our nurseries and children's centres, staff make sure children get the best start in life. Our foster, adoptive and modern residential services find children and young people safe and loving homes.

We step in to protect children from neglect and abuse and help those who care for others or are at risk of homelessness. Innovative projects like The Blues Programme give young people the help they need to look after their mental health.

We're here for parents through projects like Parent Talk, our online support service.

We’ve been helping children for more than 150 years. In 2021/22, we helped 671,275 children, young people and families. This was only possible with your support.

  • Since 1869 we’ve helped more than two million children and young people.
  • 111,800: the number of people reached with mental health support in 2021/22.
  • 469,900: the number of people reached by our online parenting advice service, Parent Talk, in 2021/22.

Your donations help us to support vulnerable children, young people and their families in the UK.

86 of every £1* we spend goes directly towards helping children, young people and their families. Your support is so important right now because levels of poverty, abuse and neglect have been rising. We’ve seen a huge surge in demand for our services. Your donations help us to run these essential services, which give vulnerable children and families a vital lifeline.

We make sure that every penny you donate goes where it will have the greatest impact on children’s lives.

Most of the donations we receive from our campaigns are unrestricted. This means they’re not spent on one project or one specific area of the UK, but where the need is greatest. We wouldn’t be able to operate as a charity without this type of income. Unrestricted funds help us reach the children and young people who need us most. Funds raised from this appeal will be unrestricted and used by Action for Children for its general charitable purposes. Please see the Our Work and Impact for examples of the work we do to help children and young people and their families.

* Figure based on audited 2021/22 charity accounts that exclude commercial nurseries.

For every £1 we spend, 86p helps children and families