Be Careful and Stay Safe

by Cheri J. Meiners

The world can seem so perilous, especially where our children are concerned. But even very young children can learn basic skills for staying safe in ordinary situations and preparing for emergencies. Without scaring kids (or alarming adults), this book teaches little ones how to avoid potentially dangerous situations, ask for help, follow directions, use things carefully, and plan ahead. Includes questions, activities, and safety games that reinforce the ideas being taught.

Genres: Childrens, Nonfiction, Picture Books

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Cheri has her master's degree in elementary education and gifted education. A former first-grade teacher, she has taught education classes at Utah State University and has supervised student teachers. She is the author of the award-winning children's series, 'Learning to Get Along', and the new series, 'Being the Best Me.' Cheri and her husband, David, have six children and three grandchildren.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Careful & Stay Safe starts with the benefit to the child: being able to take care of oneself. We all want to be independent. Listening and following instructions is the first way listed to help children stay safe. The book reiterates over and over about "adults I can trust." This is great for instilling that not all grown-ups are trustworthy. Thinking thoroughly and carefully ahead of time helps tremendously. Being aware and staying away from things that are dangerous until the child is old enough to learn how to deal with those things is shown. The buddy system in public is listed as a safe option. If lost from a parent or trusted adult, stay in place or ask an employee for help. Community helpers are listed as good options to look for when help is needed. And it lists a few ways on how to recognize those people. Ask for help if needed. Call for help in situations of emergency. Don't talk to strangers unless with a parent or trusted adult. If the child feels uncomfortable or doesn't know the stranger, the book instructs them to ignore the person and walk away. And if that person doesn't feel safe or right, find a safe place and a trusted adult right away. Sometimes things happen that we don't expect, but we can plan ahead for potential emergencies. The benefit to the child is reiterated: learning to keep oneself and others safe, which also helps everyone to get along.

For such a small book, this is packed full of great information to help a child with several safety situations they need to be aware of and know how to deal with. There are extra instructions for the parents at the end. These types of books spark communication with your kids on what you both expect from common situational dangers. I do like to add what the Berenstain Bears' Stranger book says, which is essentially that we can't have rules for every situation so we have to use our common sense to figure out what we need to do.

Be Careful & Stay Safe is the exact type of book that all parents need to read with their kids. It presents information in a way that helps the child feel empowered to know that they can handle these situations instead of building up a sense of fear. It references the child's dependence upon trusted adults, while also, showing the child how they can tackle these situations. I'm giving it 5 Stars. Have you or your child read Be Careful & Stay Safe? What did you think? Let me know!

P.S. There is an illustration of a cordless telephone circa early 2000s on the page that references calling for help in case of emergency. This is an outdated illustration as most houses no longer have telephones like this. Maybe it's a good talking point with your child though. My children know how to use my phone to make an emergency call. If you choose to read this book with your child, it might be a good idea to show them how to do the same on your own phone.

[Lauryn Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about staying safe and taking care of yourself. Some ways to stay safe are to listen to grown-ups and follow directions, use things carefully, be aware of harmful or dangerous things, stay with a grownup when in public places, ask or call for help when needed, don’t talk to strangers, say no to something unsafe or not right, have a plan whenever there is an emergency, and many other ways. This book is excellent for teaching children various ways on how to be safe. This book is excellent for children to learn the dangers of not being safe and ways they can stay safe along with reasons why children should stay safe.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in preparation for my safety storytime this week. This book gives several different types of examples on personal safety, from interacting with strangers to reporting things that make them uncomfortable, etc. It isn't overly detailed on its own, but can be a good tool to further conversations with young readers about personal safety.

For: readers wanting a book about all kinds of personal safety.

Possible red flags: some readers may feel the book doesn't give enough information on these topics.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book talks about the safety of young children or students who are beginning thier education in a real school.So this book would be aimed for more of the older kids who might be 3 or 4 years old.This book is a great addition to early childhood education because it's a starting point for children to understand thay there are rules and guidelines we have to follow for school and that's because Teachers and adults are trying to look out for all the children and making sure they all stay safe in the process of going to and leaving scho0l.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A child monologues about how he stays safe – that he can check to see if things are sensible, that he abides by instructions and asks for help or advice willingly, that he can call for help if someone seems a bit too dodgy, or can access the emergency supplies cupboard for batteries and post-apocalypse food rations. Oh to have so self-assured kids that know what to do when they lose their adult in a department store – once again the characters in these books can almost be too good to be true, but not to the detriment of the advice or our will to follow it. A safe purchase.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this Learning to Get Along series. We’ve read the book on being polite and one on sharing, both of which I preferred over this one, but that’s only because I felt those were easier for him to understand. The safety topics addressed in this book are incredibly important, but seemed to be more for older children and beyond his comprehension. It was a good introduction, but I’ll be looking for something geared for younger readers. This is probably best for preschool and up.

[Sara Bushaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

In our world today there are many dangerous things occurring, and kids are never too young to learn the basics of protecting themselves. Through the great illustrations of this book, it teaches kids to stay away from things that are potentially dangerous, ask for help, plan ahead and follow directions. This author does a decent job in showing kids how to protect themselves though shows them in a friendly and caring manner rather than a harsh one.

[Jenna Kistner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Be Careful and Stay Safe is an easy to follow story for teaching young children about safety. This book is put towards kids going to school for the first time. By following along with this book, children learn how to handle safety and situations without being scared to do so.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good toddler and up book about personal safety. Told in clear and simple words a young boy goes through his day giving tips about what he can and can't do and who to ask for help.

[Taylor Kundel-Gower · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Anna Sangrey Roussel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for teaching safety awareness to ECC learners! The activities in the back help to cement the gentle wording and lessons taught through the picture book.

[Yanira Ghani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the safety games in the book. the simple but not scary idea of being safe.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I do like the activity ideas. Could return to this later. But I’m having trouble finding what I need right now, which is just a simpler book about holding hands around cars.

[Ricky Ordway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very basic but I gave it four stars for the fact that it teaches little children to be safe. Without being too scary, it teaches kids how to recognize dangers, ask adults for help and to have a plan for emergencies. Great for younger primary students and great for teachers because it includes questions, activities, and safety games that reinforce the ideas being taught right in the back of the book. Great all in one resource.

[Principle Based Learning]

(recommended by: Ashley B)
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[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is part of the Learning to Get Along children's book series. Very well written and illustrated, with clear, simple messages about safety. I highly recommend this series

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole "Learning to Get Along" series is written for use with young students. Even preschoolers and kindergartners can understand the illustrations and simply stated text.

[NaYoung Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It gave easy and clear information about safety prevention that can be done in children's lives. In fact, the parts that children can do are carefully explained and used as a great tool.