Kids get swimming lessons, reading groups and times tables practice. They rarely get a lesson in how to actually be a good friend, or what to do when a friendship falls apart at the seams.
That’s the gap Adelaide psychologist and Kiddo columnist Madhavi Nawana Parker has set out to fill with her new book, The Friendship Blueprint, arriving August 2026.
Why friendship skills need teaching
Most of us assume kids either “get” friendship or they don’t. That it somehow sorts itself out on the playground, through trial and error and the occasional tear at pick-up.
Nawana Parker’s approach is different. She treats friendship as a set of skills, like any other, that can be taught, practised and improved over time. And the research backs her up: friendship is one of the strongest protective factors for a child’s mental health.
The fallout from friendship struggles rarely stays contained to the schoolyard. Loneliness and social difficulty in childhood are linked to real impacts on confidence, learning and long-term wellbeing. Which is exactly why The Friendship Blueprint frames friendship skills as core curriculum, not optional extras.
What’s inside the book
The Friendship Blueprint is built to be used, not just read and shelved. Each chapter pairs a practical strategy with real-world scenarios, reflection prompts and step-by-step activities. The ideas are designed to translate into what actually happens at drop-off, in the classroom or at a birthday party gone sideways.
The book also comes with extras that work just as well in classrooms and youth groups as they do in your loungeroom:
- Posters for visual reinforcement
- Case studies that bring concepts to life
- Extension activities focused on empathy, communication and resilience
The intent is a resource that three different adults in a child’s life could all pick up and use in their own way. A parent, a teacher and a coach could work from the same playbook, reinforcing the same skills across different settings.
Who it’s written for
The Friendship Blueprint is aimed squarely at the adults surrounding a child, rather than the child alone. Parents, teachers and youth leaders who want a shared language for talking about friendship, instead of three different approaches happening in isolation.
For Kiddo readers, Madhavi Nawana Parker isn’t a new name. As a psychologist with Positive Minds Australia and a regular Kiddo contributor, she’s spent years translating child psychology into advice parents can actually use. This book is that same approach, expanded into a full curriculum you can return to again and again.
Preorder your copy
The Friendship Blueprint arrives August 2026, with free shipping on all preorders.
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