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This book is about how Susie and Jerome
learn about healthy home. A healthy home helps
everyone who lives there to be healthy and safe. Susie B. Careful
is funny and smart, a girl who is helpful
and has a good heart. She lives with her family:
her mom, dad, and brother,
her goldfish, Jerome, and her loving grandmother.
At school Susie's learning
about health and her home. She pays close attention--
she'll soon teach Jerome. Susie's learned seven rules that you can learn
too
to keep your home healthy--she'll share them with you
To keep out things that might make people sick
(like pests and dangerous chemicals), a healthy home is clean.
Keep your home really clean--
that's rule number one. Clear off dust,
pick up clutter. Now isn't that fun? Wash your sheets,
towels, and clothes each week if you can.
Leave your shoes at the door. Show that you're a clean fan.
A clean home will help you stay
healthy and strong. That's probably something
you knew all along. Dirt's great in your garden,
but not in your home. If you don't believe Susie, then just ask Jerome.
Can you put your toys away?
Can you put your dirty clothes where they belong
(not on the floor)? Can you leave
dirty shoes at the door?
To keep out pests and mold,
a healthy home is dry, Rule number two
is to keep your home dry. Sue has a good reason
and she'll tell you why. When a home is too damp,
it grows yucky old mold,
And bugs come to visit:damp spots make bugs bold.
If you see pipes that are leaking,
tell a grownup about it. If you spill something wet,
Clean it up, don't shout about it. When you shower
or bathe, keep the puddles inside. If you splash
water around, it will need to be dried.
Can you hang up your wet towel?
Can you make sure you don't splash when you take a bath
or shower?
Can you tell a grownup if you see water on the floor?
To prevent
accidents and injuries, a healthy home
is safe. Next, keep your home safe
from some things that might harm you, or the people you love
or the critters who charm you. If you see dangerous things
like pills, bug spray, or bleach,
ask a grownup to move them from out of kids' reach.
To stop slips, trips,
and falls, when stuff's lying around,
pick it up, put away, move it off of the ground.
When you're not really sure
it's something safe or it isn't, grownups can tell you.
They'll make the decision.
Can you keep stuff off the stairs where people might trip?
Can you tell a grown up if you see something you think is
dangerous? Can you ask
a grownup to put away dangerous
things?
To make breathing easier, a healthy home has
fresh air.
Fresh air makes it easier to breathe for most people.
For clean gentle wind there is surely no equal.
Ask the grownups at home
to bring in fresh air. They can open a
window so a breeze can be shared. A fan in the bathroom
and one in the kitchen can push more air around
than the wings of a pigeon.
With fresh air in your home, you might start to feel bubbly
though Jerome in his bowl--fresh
air makes him wobbly.
Can you ask a grownup to open a
window on a nice day? Can you ask a grownup to
turn on a fan in the kitchen?
Can you ask a grownup to turn on a fan in the bathroom?
To keep people from getting sick,
a healthy home doesn't have pests.
A pest's a bad guest who has not been invited.
Like mice, rats, and bugs, which get people excited.
Keep them out of your home: you can try if you're able.
You can clean up your dishes, wipe your own
kitchen table. Put leftover meals in the fridge
and close tight. If pests come to snack,
that meal's out of sight. Put leftover sweets in a box with a cover,
not lying around for some pests to discover.
Put crumbs in the trash can, to be taken outside,
so pests don't have food or good places to hide.
Can you wipe
crumbs off the table and throw them away?
Can you help put leftover food away?
Can you carry dirty diirty dishes to the
kitchen sink? To keep people from getting hurt
or sick, a healthy home doesn't have
dangerous chemicals.
Ask grownups around you: "Please don't smoke near me. Keep smoke out of my home.
It's unhealthy and scary."
Smoke that's on clothes, on hands, and in hair
is bad for your health. Don't share smoky air.
If your home has old paint,
the dust and the flakes can make people sick
so for all of your sakes, ask grownups to clean it with wet rags and some soap.
Then you won't need to worry. The grownups can cope.
Can you politely
ask someone you know not to
smoke near you? Can you tell a grownup if you see
peeling paint or paint dust? Can you remember not to
touch cleaning supplies, like laundry soap?
To keep small problems from becoming big problems,
a healthy home is in good repair. Most household repairs
are for grownups, don't doubt it. But you can help your family
by talking about it. If you see a small problem,
like a hole in a wall, tell a grownup
you know, so the whole wall doesn't fall.
Sue's mom patches small holes,
Dad prepares a loose railing, and they hire an expert to fix plumbing
that's failing.
They check their home often to find problems while small.
Keep it fixed, keep it safe, keep it healthy for all.
Can you tell a grownup if you see a broken window in your home?
Can you tell a grownup if you see
a dripping faucet? Can you tell a grownup if a door won't close
all the way?
Here's a message for you:
Susie B. Careful
and Jerome, her pet fish, want you to know that they have one
big wish. We want folks
to be healthy, not coughing or sneezing,
or sick, scraped, or stung,
or bleeding or wheezing.
The message we have--it's clear and it's plain.
It's important for you so we'll explain it again.
You, too, can live in a safe, healthy home,
like my family and me, and my fish
pal, Jerome.
Can you tell your family what a healthy
home is? Can you tell your family
why you want your home to be healthy?
Can you tell your family some ways to make your home healthy?
Here are the rules for a healthy home:
A healthy home is clean
dry, and safe. It has
fresh air, no pests, and no dangerous chemicals.
It's in good repair.