Using Zippy's friends to promote the mental health of young children

Mental health disorders constitute one of the most serious challenges to global health. Yet spending on mental health is a tiny fraction of spending on physical health, and there is a dearth of effective mental health promotion programmes for children, even though research has shown that young children can learn coping skills to deal with difficult life situations. Zippy's Friends is an international programme that helps 5 to 7 year olds to develop coping and social skills. Experience gained from running the programme in 11 countries, including China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), shows that, while difficulties exist, there is much that schools, teachers, and parents can do to promote the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young children.
精神健康的問題是世界衛生的一項重大挑戰。相對於身體的健康，投放在促進精神健康的資源很少。雖然研究顯示，兒童可透過學習應對策略來處理日常生活中的困難，但有效促進兒童精神健康的課程仍很缺乏。《比比和朋友》是一個世界性的課程，旨在幫助5至7歲的兒童學習應對策略和社交技巧。全球已有11個國家參與這計劃，包括香港和上海等地區。我們的國際經驗顯示，雖然困難重重，學校、老師和家長仍有很多方法可促進兒童的精神和情緒健康。Copyright © 2007 The Hong Kong Institute of Education.