Ah-Choo! teaches Compromising with Siblings

Ah-Choo! a picture book for children by Lana Wayne Koehler and Gloria G. Adams, and illustrated by Ken Min is about a boy looking for a pet that will not make his sister sneeze. He goes through a list of animals from A to Z such as antelope, bobolink birds, cats and dogs to wolves and zebras and brings them home, to find out that each creature makes his sister go Ah-Choo! Children will enjoy reading what the boy does with the all the animals, and the pet he settles for, which does not make his sister sneeze.

It is a wonderful book to start conversations with children such as how we can compromise with our siblings and problem solving. I am glad the co-author of Ah-Choo! Gloria G. Adams was able to write a guest post for the readers of CreateWithMom and share her thoughts on this subject.

One of the best things I like about our book, Ah-Choo! is that the brother cares so much about his little sister. I mean, what kid do you know who would bring home an entire alphabet's worth of animals in order to find just one that won't make his sister sneeze?

It's exaggeration, of course, and fictional. But still, I love the little guy. He's out-of- this-world persistent! The ability to compromise is a life lesson that we all need to learn. As parents, the job of teaching that to our kids falls to us and daily conflicts provide plenty of opportunities. In the scenario in Ah-Choo!, the parents might have just said, "No, we can't ever have pets because of your sister." Or, they might have just gone out and purchased a Bearded Dragon to begin with. Instead, they left it to the boy to figure it out for himself and find a working solution. This takes a great deal of patience and guidance on the part of parents. But, in this case, they have obviously done a good job of teaching him not only to be empathetic to his sister's situation, but also taught him that it's possible to find solutions where both parties are satisfied. And given him the freedom to try.

According to Jennifer Luchesi Long, a teacher with a B.A. in psychology and a master's degree in both education and sociology, "Compromise is what makes sibling relationships, friendships, families, and society healthy and strong." Besides serving as strong role models, how do we accomplish this? According to Long, "kids need adults to help them remove emotion from a situation so that compromise is possible. Once helped to see both sides, kids are quick to accept mutual concession…" She also suggests a good resource, Parenting Science that provides games and activities to teach social skills because, "having good social skills is a prerequisite to compromise."

Reading Ah-Choo! to your kids can be a great way to open up discussions about particular conflict issues with which your kids might be dealing. Our main character goes to extreme lengths, which is what makes it funny. But it also makes him a great role model.

Giveaway: 

If you are in USA or Canada and would like to win a copy of Ah-Choo! enter the giveaway through the rafflecopter below. This giveaway ends on July 30th. Please leave comments and follow my social media networks to be eligible to win.
Update: The winner is Sabina

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