Please Explain Vaccines to Me: Because I HATE SHOTS! by Laurie Zelinger PH.D {Children's Book Review}

Please Explain Vaccines to Me is a wonderful resource at just the right time in our society, for parents and children alike.

Disclosure: I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books, I have volunteered to share my review and all the opinions are 100% my own.

Shots, injections, needles, and vaccines-whatever their purpose, they all hurt. More than half of children in the 6-17 year-old range report a strong fear of needles. Nearly 25% of adults do as well. This book is for those families who cringe at the thought of getting one.

For some children, getting a shot is a major ordeal. Ramped-up anxiety can lead to tantrums, meltdowns, outbursts and even fainting. That 30-second experience can be a nightmare for parents for and nursing staff alike. This resource will help to improve that dreaded scenario.

The book opens with an engaging story for children where rhyme, colorful illustrations and characters of persity capture a child’s interest as they identify with a girl who has similar fears. The children’s section is followed by a comprehensive guide for parents and caregivers, based on empirical research as well as Dr. Zelinger’s decades of experience as a child psychologist, where she offers information and explicit solutions to help deal with the anxiety surrounding this common medical procedure.

Children will:

• Identify with the main character and her fear of shots

• Enjoy the colorful illustrations and happy story ending

• Learn coping mechanisms to deal with frightening situations

• Feel supported by their parents who will know how to help

• Reduce their anxiety and become more cooperative during medical visits

Parents/Caregivers will:

• Understand the reasoning behind the fear of injections

• Learn strategies to help their child before and during a medical visit

• Be better able to comfort their child

“Dr. Laurie Zelinger has done it again with another excellent child and parent-friendly book that helps to allay fears and empower families and professionals with the tools to help children develop healthy coping skills. Please Explain Vaccines to Me has it all: a relatable and simple yet engaging text in rhyme that is fun to read aloud, as well as colorful illustrations that provide an honest and relatable depiction of the emotions involved. As an experienced nurse and health educator, I see this book as a “must-have” resource for all caregivers, educators and health professionals.”
–Darlene Glasser, RN, MSEd

“Please Explain Vaccines to Me is a book that every parent will want to read to their child before getting a shot. It demystifies vaccinations with language that a child will both understand and want to question further. It also gives both children and parents the language they need to express their anxiety about the process and the tools to lessen that anxiety. It gets 5 stars!”
–Yael Kula, MSW, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)

From the Please Explain series at Loving Healing Press.

Enjoy these excerpts!

It is nothing new that I like books that rhyme – especially kid books. Please Explain Vaccines to Me (as with most of the Please Explain to Me series) rhymes and keeps it short and simple for the kids to understand, with amazing illustrations to accompany it.

Please Explain Vaccines to Me is a great book for kids to understand what vaccines are and why we get them. I think my favorite was the page that shares how vaccines fight to keep us healthy and the illustration that accompanies it, shows ninjas fighting – something children can relate too; and who doesn’t like the thought of mini ninjas in our bodies fighting germs to keep us healthy!?

The book makes for an excellent resource for parents to not only understand vaccines themselves, but gives tips to talk to their kids and explain it. There is a definition part to learn the medical language, advice to speak to the children in a way they can understand, and tips to help you help your child get a vaccine.

As the book states, it’s okay to cry when you are being brave.

Please Explain Vaccines to Me is a wonderful tool, shared at the right time in our world, that helps kids understand why we get vaccines; affirms it’s okay to have emotions about getting a shot; and is a great tool to help families explain and not fear vaccines.

More books from the ‘Please Explain to Me‘ series…

Please Explain Alzheimer’s Disease to Me:
A Children’s Story and Parent Handbook About Dementia

Please Explain Time Out to Me:
A Story for Children and Do-It-Yourself Manual for Parents

Please Explain Terrorism to Me:
A Story for Children, P-E-A-R-L-S of Wisdom for Their Parents

Please Explain Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy to Me:
A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Child for Surgery, 3rd Edition

Please Explain Anxiety to Me!
Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents, 2nd Edition

About the Author

Dr. Laurie Zelinger, Diplomate, is a Board Certified Psychologist with a specialty in School Psychology, and a Registered Play Therapist with forty years’ experience. She is a licensed New York State psychologist who recently retired from a Long Island public school system and is now devoting her time exclusively to writing, consulting, and her busy private practice. Dr. Laurie’s previous books include: “Please Explain Anxiety to Me: Simple Biology and Solutions for Children and Parents,” The “O MY” in TonsillectOMY & AdenoidectOMY: How to Prepare Your Child for Surgery (in its second edition), A Smart Girl’s Guide to Liking Herself Even on the Bad Days for American Girl, and a chapter on selective mutism in the compendium, School Based Play Therapy (second edition). She is also credited with being a consultant for the Bitty Baby book series by American Girl where she assisted in the development of the “For Parents” sections, as well as editorial development of another American Girl book. Dr. Laurie’s interest in writing began in 4th grade, when a play she wrote was performed by students in her public school. Dr. Zelinger is a fellow and elected officer in the nationally based American Academy of School Psychology and spent four years on the Executive Board of the New York Association of Play Therapy. As a media referral specialist for the American Psychological Association, she has contributed to nearly 200 venues regarding child development. Dr. Laurie and her psychologist husband, Dr. Fred, are both certified Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteers. They have been happily married for over thirty-five years and have raised four children. You can learn more about Dr. Zelinger and her books at DrZelinger dot com.