Why

Many children and young people experience emotional distress, and parents often feel unprepared to help. Research shows that the ability to identify and express emotions—supported by adults—is a powerful preventive factor against isolation, depression, school dropout and other risks. Early prevention, active family involvement and strong adult support are therefore essential — this initiative is explicitly preventionfocused.

What

We developed the booklet “Chiacchiere Importanti per la Vita,” a practical, positive manual for talking with children aged 9–12, featuring simple exercises and guidance from psychologists, researchers and therapists. The booklet is paired with a flexible program of introductory and experiential sessions for teachers, pediatricians and parents to build awareness, drive engagement, break taboos and enable local teams to run the initiative independently. To date we have reached 49 schools, distributed over 6,000 manuals and conducted more than 11 laboratories with 30 paretns, 269 teachers and 100 pediatricians.

Who

The pilot was developed in close collaboration with Swedish originators Suicide Zero and Åkestam Holst and implemented within the Province of Modena with local health authorities. In 2025 we expanded partnerships—within the Province of Modena—to include the Italian Society of Pediatrics (SIP), the Cultural Association of Pediatricians (ACP) and family pediatricians, and engaged companies through parenting support welfare programs to build a territorial support ecosystem reaching parents, schools and community actors. This is an ongoing initiative.