Fun Friends 4-7 Years

There are three developmentally tailored versions of the FRIENDS programs – Fun Friends for 4-7 year olds, FRIENDS for Life for 7-12 year olds, and My FRIENDS for 12-17 year olds.

The recently developed Fun Friends program shares similar principles as FRIENDS for Life, but is developmentally tailored for children aged 4 to 7 years old. The play-based program teaches children and their families practical, useful strategies for coping with stress, worry, fear and sadness through activities and experiential learning (i.e. use of puppets, storytelling, puppets, art, games).

The overarching aim of Fun Friends is to increase social-emotional competence and resilience whilst decreasing and preventing worry and emotional distress.
Research shows that as many as 20% of preschool-aged children already exhibit moderate to clinical levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance, indicating the importance of early intervention.

Fun Friends aims to prevent the onset of later-life emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Some of the skills taught in Fun Friends include:
1. Building a sense of identity;
2. How to relax and self-soothe;
3. Social skills;
4. Recognising and regulating emotions in self and others;
5. How to be kind, empathic, and make friends;
6. How to be brave and try new things; and
7. Positive coping strategies, including positive “green” thinking.

The objectives of the program have been shown to be well-matched and complementary to educational goals and curriculum in schools for this age group – click here – pdf.

The Pathways to Resilience Trust is a certified licensee of the Fun Friends program, and provides facilitator training accredited by Pathways Health and Research Centre.
For more information on Fun Friends, please visit the official program website: www.ourfunfriends.com