Teaching young children to be rail-safe with the help of Thomas & Friends
It’s never too early to learn about rail safety. At Operation Lifesaver (OL) Canada, our goal is to make sure all Canadians know how to stay safe around tracks and trains—and that includes young children. But who says learning about rail safety can’t be fun?
To help reach young Canadians with our safety message, OL has partnered with Mattel Canada, Canadian Pacific (CP), and Metrolinx to publish two Thomas & FriendsTM rail-safety books: the Stay Safe with Thomas storybook, and the Stand Back activity book.
Using these books, children can follow along with Thomas the Tank Engine as he learns valuable lessons about the dangers of not stopping at rail crossings, standing too close to the platform edge, or leaving farm gates open so that animals can wander onto the tracks.
“Children love Thomas & FriendsTM, which is why we’re excited to be able to offer these books to help parents and educators teach kids about rail safety in a fun and age-appropriate way,” says Sarah Mayes, National Director of Operation Lifesaver Canada. “These books are the perfect way for young children to learn the rail-safety rules they need to know to stay safe.”
Providing parents and educators with free resources
OL has launched its two new Thomas & FriendsTM resources as part of Rail Safety Week 2022 (September 19th to 25th), and is offering the books for FREE to parents, educators, and community groups. Anyone can download a PDF version of the storybook, and teachers and community groups can order batches of 25 copies of both books using a form on our website. OL will even ship the books for free.
We’re also bringing the Thomas & FriendsTM rail-safety books to a toy store near you. OL is partnering with Mattel to host readings of the Stay Safe storybook at select Toys ‘R Us stores across Canada on September 25th, where we’ll also be giving away free copies of our Thomas activity books. Follow OL on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for details and store locations.
So, what are you waiting for? Download the Thomas e-book or order some hard copies today, and let’s make sure every child learns to stay rail-safe.