Each child looks at the camera, trying to be brave as they speak about the struggles of having a close family member with dementia. One talks about how there's not much laughter any more, another says things can be dangerous. Trying hard not to cry, one girl explains how even though your father is supposed to be there to keep you safe and look after you, now she's often the one that does the looking after.

In a series of short videos, the primary school aged children answer questions such as what it is like living with a father, grandfather or other family member with dementia, are there some good things and what is their best memory of that person.

One young boy says, "I just want to remember before I knew that my grandma had dementia, before I knew that life was hard."

The poignant videos are part of an online package that will be shown in schools to children aged 9 to 12, in a national project aimed at improving awareness and understanding of the condition.

The project began after researchers found that although around 320,000 Australians have dementia, there were widespread misconceptions and stigma about the illness.

The first Australia-wide survey of dementia awareness, conducted for Alzheimer's Australia last year, found understanding of the illness was very low, with about 25 per cent of people saying they were uncomfortable and didn't know what to do around someone with dementia.

The number of people with dementia is projected to reach more than half a million by 2030.

Research psychologist Dr Jess Baker, said with a fast-ageing population, a growing number of children would be in contact with someone who has dementia.

The classroom package also includes interviews with three people living with dementia who talk about the challenges and misconceptions of the illness. Dr Baker said there was a lot of stigma, particularly for those with younger onset dementia. In focus groups for the project one girl told researchers she often heard things like, "your mum's stupid".

"We hear of people being ignored, spoken over and treated like children. One of the main things to come out of the focus groups was that people with dementia are still just people, with all their life experience."

The program, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, has seven short modules, covering topics including: what causes dementia; how does it feel to have dementia; how can we keep our brain healthy, and what happens in an aged care facility.

Dr Baker, lead researcher on the schools program, said it was aimed at children because they were generally more responsive to anti-stigma education than adults, and it was easier to create new attitudes than change old ones.

"I see children as the citizens of the future. They're going to grow up to be teachers and doctors and leaders. They're the grass roots of that dementia-friendly society we're all aiming for.

"Each dementia-friendly community will look different but may include simple changes like training staff to better communicate with people with dementia, providing volunteering and employment opportunities for people with dementia, as well as providing access to social activities such as sporting clubs and social groups."

Dr Baker said from the focus groups with children, people with dementia and carers, many wanted the wider community to develop empathy and an understanding of how much dementia affects the whole family.

Asked about what memory they most treasure, a girl on the edge of tears says, "I think good moments come along all the time and if you're focused on the memories you might miss the good moments. The trick is to look for the good moments all the time."

Watch a video of what it is like for children living with dementia