4 | COVID-19 concerns raised by children and young people Case studies: Impacts on family life ‘Ruby’, aged 7, rang Kids Helpline with the help of her mother. She was crying through the call but managed to say that her parents had split up and she wanted her father to stay at their house. Due to COVID-19, she is unable to see her father as regularly, and she misses him. He lives with her stepmother and an older stepsister, who Ruby says is mean to her. ‘Jack’, aged 14, contacted Kids Helpline to talk about how living with his family has got worse since coronavirus. He had a terrible fight with his Mum this morning, and his dad also got involved. His dad hit him on the legs and called him a ‘f***** useless piece of shit’. Jack says that if he tells child protection people, they just tell him to go back home and work it out. Earlier this year he lived with a foster family for a few months, which was okay but not great. Now with coronavirus he has to rely on his parents more than he would like. ‘Eddie’, aged 14, told Kids Helpline that things at home have been a lot worse since coronavirus. His dad lost his job and is now at home a lot more. Both his parents have been drinking every night and spend their money on smokes and alcohol instead of proper food. His mum makes dinner a few times a week, and he has cereal sometimes for breakfast, but he said there isn’t enough nutritious food in the house. He likes his mum, but she is spending more of her time with his dad getting drunk. He said home feels like a prison because he is stuck at home and can no longer play sport or visit friends. ‘Indi’, aged 13, contacted Kids Helpline about her father, who she says can be controlling and mean. Things have just got worse since lockdown as they are at home together all the time. Recently he took away her laptop which she needs for online schooling. Her mother is planning to leave him, but they depend on him financially and her mother recently lost her job due to COVID-19. 26 ‘Matt’, aged 14, told Kids Helpline that it is especially hard being in their family at the moment, due to lockdown. They are unsure of their gender and want to be able to figure out who they are. School is usually where they feel safest and where they can relax. Matt reported that they don’t feel loved by their parents and their parents are very controlling. They are not sure what to do, and whether to tell their parents about their gender identity now or later once lockdown is lifted. ‘Daria’, aged 20, told Kids Helpline that she lost her job due to COVID-19, and had to move home because she could not support herself. But now her parents are kicking her out of the home within a month because they are unsupportive of her sexual orientation, and this leads to constant arguments. ‘Luke’, aged 17, rang Kids Helpline to talk about the difficulties he has with his parents, saying they are emotionally abusive towards him and that he feels unsafe at times. Now he is struggling with how they are treating him while he is home doing online schooling. His mother is drinking more and verbally abusing him, and his father is increasingly acting unpredictably and aggressively. Luke wants to leave home but is only in Year 11 and needs to stay at school because he wants to go on to university. He used to be able to spend as much time as he could out of home before the coronavirus, going to rugby training four days a week and going out with friends. But now he can’t.