No matter how much we wish it wasn’t so, the truth is that our children will come up against challenges and obstacles in life, even during their early years. We can’t always be there to fix things, and neither should we attempt to be. It’s our job as parents to prepare them for such situations, and hope that when they arise, as they inevitably will, that we’ve given them sufficient guidance and the frame of reference from which to make good choices. Children, like adults, will make mistakes. After all, this is how we learn and grow. But by instilling certain values in our children we can make navigating tricky situations that little bit easier.

A great way to prepare your child for kindergarten and the early primary school years is to consider the new experiences they may exposed to and talk about them in an age-appropriate way. Picture books are a great way to start a conversation about important topics in a way that children understand, and we’ve found a must-have series of books that are perfect for the 5–8-year-old age range. (Although younger children will enjoy the characters and illustrations too.)

Written by PRG Collins and illustrated by Madeleine Simson, the Life Lessons for Kids series, provide an enjoyable and nurturing way to teach children life lessons around topics such as stealing, honesty, bullying, positivity, embracing diversity, being yourself and treating all people equally. PRG Collins is adding 15 more books to the series this month, covering even more of the life lessons that are important for our little ones.

The stories which feature a range of relatable and memorable animal characters, were inspired by the author’s relationship with his own children.

“We had four kids under five, and I used to tell them stories most nights. When they sometimes asked for last night’s story, I found it hard to remember what I’d made up!” he explains.

“So, I started writing stories down or putting them on cassettes for them to listen to. The natural inspiration was to equip my kids with some key lessons in meeting life’s challenges lying ahead. I wrote stories on the ones I thought were most likely – based on animals – to give them an idea of how to handle emotions, feelings or situations they may face.”

“Teaching young kids important life lessons and values can sometimes be tricky to navigate. I hope my books make the process a little easier, and above all, make it lots of fun.”

What We Love About the Life Lessons for Kids Series

We were gifted 8 of the books from the original series;

A Dog Called Ruffy – about learning to swim

A Tiger Called Luger – about being yourself

A Fish Called Goldie – about staying positive

A Bird Called Swoopy – that stealing is wrong

A Monkey Called Smoochie – about separated parents

A Zebra Called Hoops – about special needs

A Bear Called Bruno – about being bullied

A Cat Called Cookie – about being fair

The secret to teaching young children things is to make the lesson so entertaining or fun that they don’t realise they are learning!

Not only do the books in the Life Lessons for Kids allow parents, guardians or teachers to tackle important topics with young children, they do it in an-appropriate way that children find enjoyable and engaging, and not preachy.

PRG Collins’ highly relatable characters, which are beautifully brought to life by Madeleine Simson, make them a visual delight to engage with too and allowing even children younger than 5 to follow along with the story at their own level of understanding.

The books are written in such a way as to spark curiosity in young readers, and are a great way to approach difficult subjects, such as when parents separate (as in A Monkey Called Smoochie) or losing a loved one (as in A Fish Called Goldie). In this way, they can be used as a tool at home or in classrooms to talk about a range of topics, challenges and situations in a way that’s gentle, enjoyable and nurturing for young children.

The Life Lessons for Kids series is available to purchase through www.alifelessonforkids.com,  Amazon, Angus & Robertson and Dymocks.

About the Author

PRG Collins is a father and grandfather. After a successful career as a business owner with a background in IT software and hardware, he decided to pursue his hobby of creative writing. With the encouragement of his now adult children, he put many of their childhood stories to paper, which provided the foundations of Life Lessons for Kids series.