As Britain’s longest-running comic, The Beano, reaches it’s 80th birthday it’s set to make a number of changes, one of those being the introduction of a strip designed to support kids with mental health. Specifically, Young Minds teamed up with the creators of the magazine, one of which is David Walliams who will be guest editing the issue, to make an addition, this being ‘Mandi and her Mobile,’ a strip designed to subtly support and educate those who are receiving their first phone about the issues they may face while using it.
In the comic Mandi Sharma, a nine-year-old girl who lives in Beanotown with her mum and grandmother receives her first phone, and although it’s an exciting moment for Mandi, the story aims to make it clear that interacting with people digitally is different to interacting face-to-face.
Beano’s chief executive, Emma Scott, had this to say about the new character: “We feel we have a responsibility to entertain kids, but also to make sure they’re in a safe place,” adding: “We want to engage with young people and adults in their lives to give some messages around what digital could or couldn’t mean. Combining Beano’s decades of experience in communicating with children and YoungMinds’ insight into child mental health gives an opportunity to bring a sense of humour and levity to subjects which can be very dark, or difficult.”
