I am a huge fan of teaching my children the basics about road safety as soon as they are able to grasp the concept of danger...which is typically when they are still very young. When our first child was a toddler, she was very much an explorer and she loved to wander. I didn't let her out of my sight when we were outside because she could take off in a heartbeat and if I wasn't paying attention, she would disappear. At the time, we had a very short, black-topped driveway but lived on a very quiet street. She loved to go outside and play so most nice days, that is exactly where we would be...out in the front yard playing on all the riding toys. I remember one day like it was yesterday. She was playing on the driveway and I was sitting there watching her. In the blink of an eye, she was racing towards the street as fast as her little legs could carry her and no matter how loud I yelled, she wasn't stopping. I finally caught up with her and carefully and FIRMLY explained that we do NOT run into the road. Ever. She learned quickly with dedicated training sessions in which I would let her go and give her voice commands as to when she should stop. Surprisingly, she learned quickly and didn't enter the road unless I was with her.
Now that she is older, she has begun to ride a bike and we go for long walks in our neighborhood. She is learning the concept of stopping at stop signs, riding on the SIDE of the road rather than down the middle and how to start and stop her bicycle safely. These are all things that she needs to know in order to ride her bike and we have had fun teaching her! Today, I am going to introduce a cute board book to you that will help YOU to teach your child all about road safety and this book is from Greene Bark Press and it is called "Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again", which retails for $8.50. I was sent this book to read through with my children and wanted to share my thoughts with you today. :)
Oh goodness...this is such a cute little board book! Perfect for children ages 3 - 8, it is full of cute characters, adorable, brightly colored pictures and wonderful lessons to be learned about crossing the road safely. The story line is all about a little duck named Wally Waddlewater, who wants to mail his grandmother a letter...but needs to cross busy streets in order to get to the mailbox.
Packed full of action and scenarios that are perfect for teaching children, this book is very well put together for little ones. Before I had the chance to actually read this book TO my children, they had grabbed it and ran off with it simply so they could look at the pictures! They absolutely loved the drawings and they are good enough, you really don't need words to fully understand what is happening in the pictures.
One of my favorite sections in the book is when Wally Waddlewater was walking and they used the words "Wadda, Wadda" to describe the walking...I thought that was sooo cute! You can use voice inflections to make it seem cuter too...which....*ahem*...I did. :)
Wally Waddlewater has to wait for many things to come down the road before he can cross (elephants, trains, etc.) and if his mommy was not there to guide and teach him, he would have been badly injured. The good news is that he did learn how to cross the street and was able to get his letter into the mailbox safely.
This book has been GREAT for teaching all of my children about crossing the road. I also love how it teaches obedience...immediate obedience. This is something we strive for in our children and I love it when a book comes along side my teaching and helps to reinforce the lesson we are trying to get across to them. So now, when we go for a walk as a family we always repeat the phrase "look left, look right, look left again" at each intersection, making sure the children stop walking/riding. They all turn their heads in both directions and ultimately, we make it safely across the street.
This book has been GREAT for teaching all of my children about crossing the road. I also love how it teaches obedience...immediate obedience. This is something we strive for in our children and I love it when a book comes along side my teaching and helps to reinforce the lesson we are trying to get across to them. So now, when we go for a walk as a family we always repeat the phrase "look left, look right, look left again" at each intersection, making sure the children stop walking/riding. They all turn their heads in both directions and ultimately, we make it safely across the street.
I would DEFINITELY recommend this book to anyone who is looking to teach road safety to their children. It is a fun way to teach a very important lesson to your child without scaring them or, God forbid, having them get hurt because you failed to teach them.
So, check out Greene Bark Press' board book, "Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again" and invest in your children's safety today! You will be so glad that you did. Our family enjoyed this book and hope you will check it out! Be sure to read what my other crew mates had to say about this book, by clicking the banner below.
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