As a child, UOW medical student Alexia Paglia remembers learning how the digestive system of a cow worked before she understood the concept of her own heartbeat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Keen to make sure other children can learn as much as possible about the functions of their own bodies, the 24-year-old Gerringong resident has created a series of books aimed at three to eight-year-olds.
Featuring an anthropomorphic dog Dr Zig Zaccy Zoo - who is named for her own dog Zac - Ms Paglia explores basic anatomy and physiology of different organs alongside young scientists Luca and Lex.
The first book, called My Strong Heart, is all about how the heart works and what they can do to keep it healthy.
"The books aim to teach children about anatomy and physiology and increase health literacy levels," she said.
"Cardiovascular disease is Australia's number one killer, and it's something like one in six Australians self report as living with a cardiovascular condition.
"There is such a strong lifestyle component to cardiovascular disease and we know that the research has shown that healthy habits established really early in life are more likely to be adopted as lifelong practices, making childhood education on heart health and health in general, really such a crucial investment in the child's long term well being."
A former clinical researcher who is now in her first year of a medical degree, Ms Paglia worked hard to make complex medical concepts simple and fun for kids.
"I played with repetition and used a really strong upbeat rhyming scheme to mimic the la dub of the heart," she said.
"There's also heaps of interactive elements like checking your pulse which helps keep the readers super engaged."
She said the response to the book has been "amazing" with parents telling her that their kids have been clamouring to know more.
Ms Paglia - who hopes to target different parts of the body in the next part of her series - said it was a mistake to think kids were not able to grasp complex concepts.
"I think a lot of kids are actually really interested and they have such an innate curiosity for it, it's just not taught enough," she said.
"60 per cent of the population have poor levels of health literacy, which we know translates into poorer overall health outcomes.
"It's so important that kids know how their bodies work, and become familiar with it, so they can grow up to become advocates for their own health."
With cardiovascular disease so widespread, she also hopes My Strong Heart might help children to understand the medical conditions their loved ones are experiencing.
"Encouraging kids to understand how their bodies work and the ins and outs of cardiovascular disease, it does translate into 'I now understand what mum's going through or I now understand why it's so crucial that dad does this'," she said..
"And instigating that conversation demystifies it a little bit and there's less negative connotations."
Released last year, Ms Paglia is promoting her book as part of Heart Week, which runs from May 6-12.