The Nurts and SJMC Launch Children’s Storybook to Make Health Conversations Easier

Talking to children about health, emotions and illness is not always easy. Parents may know what they want to explain, but finding the right words for a young child can sometimes be challenging.

Recognising this, The Nurts and Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) have joined forces to create The Nurts Tales: Growing Strong, Inside and Out, a new children’s storybook designed to help families start important conversations about health and wellbeing in a more natural and engaging way.

Launched in Petaling Jaya on 10 August 2026, the initiative brings together storytelling, play-based family engagement and trusted healthcare expertise.

Making Health Conversations Child-Friendly

Designed for children aged four to eight, The Nurts Tales: Growing Strong, Inside and Out features five stories covering topics that are important to children’s development.

Among the themes explored are emotional wellbeing, nutrition, healthy habits, communication and understanding illness.

The stories feature familiar Nurts characters including Zoey, Mia, Liam and Noah, together with SJMC’s mascot, Teddy Paws. Through these characters and their adventures, children are introduced to health-related topics in a way that is intended to feel less intimidating and easier to understand.

Rather than presenting health information in a traditional educational format, the book uses storytelling to encourage children to explore these subjects through relatable situations.

For parents, this can also provide a useful starting point for conversations that might otherwise feel difficult.

A Storybook Designed for Parents Too

One of the more interesting elements of the book is that it goes beyond simply telling stories.

The publication also includes reflection prompts, discussion questions and practical guidance designed to help parents continue the conversation with their children after reading.

This approach recognises that children’s health education does not have to happen only in a classroom or doctor’s office. Everyday moments at home can also become opportunities for children to learn about their bodies, emotions, food, communication and healthy routines.

According to Adrian Tan, Co-founder of The Nurts and author of the book, storytelling can make conversations about difficult subjects feel more natural while helping families build safe spaces for understanding, connection and learning.

Combining Play With Healthcare Expertise

The collaboration brings together two organisations with different areas of expertise.

The Nurts is an award-winning play-based family engagement platform focused on helping children and families connect, learn and grow through play and meaningful experiences.

Meanwhile, SJMC brings its experience in healthcare and paediatrics to the project.

SJMC Consultant Paediatrician Dr Sanjay Woodhull said children tend to learn best when they are curious and having fun, making storytelling an effective way to introduce important health concepts.

The hospital’s paediatricians worked alongside The Nurts to ensure that the stories addressed health topics commonly encountered by families in their day-to-day experiences with children.

By turning these real-world concerns into relatable stories, the collaboration aims to give parents a practical resource for introducing healthy habits from an early age.

Supporting Children’s Physical and Mental Wellbeing

The book also highlights an increasingly important aspect of children’s health: wellbeing goes beyond physical health.

Emotional regulation, communication and mental wellbeing are among the subjects explored through the initiative.

These conversations can be particularly valuable during a child’s early years, when they are learning how to recognise emotions, communicate their feelings and understand how their choices can affect their wellbeing.

The launch event further explored these issues through a fireside chat involving representatives from The Nurts and SJMC.

The discussion featured Adrian Tan, Dr Sanjay Woodhull, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Wan Asyikin binti Wan Azlan and Joanne Lee, Director of Business Development, Strategy & Transformation at SJMC.

The panel discussed children’s physical and mental wellbeing, emotional regulation, healthy habits and practical ways for parents to begin meaningful conversations with their children.

Taking the Initiative Beyond the Hospital

The collaboration also reflects SJMC’s broader focus on children’s healthcare and community engagement.

The hospital was recently recognised as the No. 1 hospital in Malaysia for Paediatrics in Newsweek-Statista’s Best Specialized Hospitals Asia Pacific 2026. SJMC was also named Best Private Hospital (Selangor) at the Parenthood Parents’ Choice Awards 2026.

With The Nurts Tales, the hospital is taking health education beyond the traditional healthcare environment and bringing it directly into family settings.

SJMC will also donate copies of the storybook to selected children’s non-governmental organisations, allowing more young readers and families to benefit from the initiative.

A Three-Month Community Book Tour

The launch of The Nurts Tales: Growing Strong, Inside and Out is only the beginning.

The initiative will continue with a three-month community book tour across selected bookstores in Malaysia.

Through the tour and distribution of the storybook, The Nurts and SJMC hope to reach more families and encourage parents to view everyday storytelling as an opportunity to discuss children’s health.

At its heart, the initiative delivers a simple but meaningful message: conversations about health do not always need to begin in a doctor’s consultation room.

Sometimes, they can start with a story, a familiar character and a few simple questions.

For Malaysian families, The Nurts Tales: Growing Strong, Inside and Out could therefore become more than just a children’s storybook. It is also a conversation starter designed to help children grow not only physically, but emotionally and mentally — strong, inside and out.

The Nurts Tales: Growing Strong, Inside and Out will be available for purchase through major bookstores and The Nurts’ online platform https://www.thenurts.com/products/the-nurts-tale-growing-stronger-inside-and-out. 

For more information on SJMC and its services, visit https://subangjayamedicalcentre.com/.

Keywords:

• The Nurts Tales,
• SJMC,
• Subang Jaya Medical Centre,
• children’s storybook Malaysia,
• children health education,
• child wellbeing Malaysia,
• parenting Malaysia,
• children mental health,
• healthy habits for children,
• family health conversations,
• storytelling for children