Medikidz's five cool superheroes help youngsters understand illness

Published: 
Compiled by John Millen
Listen to this article

This week we look at a fun scheme that is helping young people understand illness

Compiled by John Millen |
Published: 
Comment

Latest Articles

Hong Kong schools to hold National Security Education Day next month

Hong Kong to showcase about 100 masterpieces from the Palace of Versailles

Hong Kong English teachers to undergo IELTS instead of local assessment

DSE 2024: To ace English Paper 1, pay attention to details and use ChatGPT to study

Australia’s ‘earless dragon’ faces extinction due to climate change

Medikidz explain a medical condition in a way both children and adults can easily understand.

What's wrong with me?

Every day, all over the world, thousands of children develop health problems that are difficult to understand and accept. What's wrong with me? What's going to happen? Why me?

Most youngsters wonder what's going on when they are told they have a serious medical condition. And when they have to take medicine and undergo treatment, it can all become very scary.

Parents always want to do their best to support a child if he or she becomes ill, but even they often find illness difficult to understand and explain. This is where the "Medikidz" come into the picture. They will tell you everything you want to know about illness in a way even a very young child can easily understand.

Who are the Medikidz?

The Medikidz are five superheroes from "Mediland", a giant planet shaped like the human body. They can teleport to Earth very quickly when they are needed.

Each of the "kidz" is a specialist on a different part of the body.

Who's who on Mediland

Gastro will tell you all you need to know about your stomach and your bum, and all the things in between. Axon is the brain specialist. Guess what Pump is an expert in? Yes, he's the guy who will tell you about your heart and blood vessels. The beautiful Skinderella is the skin and bone specialist, and her friend, Chi, knows all about the lungs and the bits that help you breathe properly. The five friends also sometimes call in their pet robot, Abacus, to help them on a special mission.

On a mission

So, how do the Medikids get the job done? It's all very professional and well-organised. The gang have produced a series of comic strip booklets called Medikidz Explain ….

Each member of the team makes sure that titles such as Medikidz explain Epilepsy, Medikidz explain having an Operation and Medikidz explain Brain Tumours are presented in a way that laymen can easily understand. So far, they have produced more than 100 titles on medical problems that children and teenagers might face.

Medikidz have also come up with booklets that help adults explain medical conditions to youngsters.

Mission in progress

Medikidz was founded by two doctors from New Zealand, Kim Chilman-Blair and Kate Hersov, who were concerned about the lack of suitable resources to help children deal with illness. Since Medikidz burst onto the scene in 2009, they have distributed more than two million comic books all over the world.

For more details, visit www.medikidz.com

Sign up for the YP Teachers Newsletter
Get updates for teachers sent directly to your inbox
By registering, you agree to our T&C and Privacy Policy
Comment