A study by Action for Children into the impact of loneliness on children, young people and families included a poll of more than 500 children, which found that more than a third (39 per cent) had felt lonely in the past week.
The charity has warned that sustained loneliness can have a life-long impact on children's mental and physical health, contributing to stress, depression, anxiety, paranoia and heart disease.
Comments from children surveyed included, "I find social situations stressful, which means I often hang around on my own" and "every day at my old school was bad because people bullied me".
The study also included a survey of more than 2,000 parents, which found that more than half have suffered from loneliness.
Young parents are particularly susceptible to loneliness, Action for Children said, citing separate research it had previously conducted which found that one in five young parents "rarely" or "never" see friends, compared with one in 10 non-parents of the same age.
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