There's no better way to introduce preschoolers to Kant's moral imperative than Jo Ann Stover's If Everybody Did, an entertaining romp through the consequences of every person in the room engaging in the same minor misbehaviors after one child does a demo round. We have a love/hate relationship with morally instructive children's books, but we are learning over time that what makes them work well in our household is humor. From Jane Yolen's How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? to Maurice Sendak and Sesyle Johnson's What Do You Say, Dear?, the use of humor puts everyone at ease while gently introducing real concepts that need teaching - in this case, helping kids conceive of the consequences of what would happen "if everybody did" what it is convenient or entertaining for them to do in isolation.

Some of the issues covered in the book might feel a little constraining for families with relaxed standards of physical behavior - it covers such issues as rough play, "changing your seat," and slamming doors - but the words are few and the illustrations are pretty hilarious if you ask Z and I, so it's easy to focus the "lesson" on the standards you actually care about enforcing. Consequences include doors falling off and crushing everyone, a sea of unseated children chaotically shifting positions around a room, and (for the action shown above) a pile of people laying like pancakes while the last of a dozen or so people gleefully leaps towards the dogpile.

Proof that this book is serving us well was close at hand recently. Jenni was sick with a cold and dropping used tissues on the floor (there was no trash can handy) and Z waltzed up and "corrected" her. "Mama, what would happen if EVERYBODY did that?"


Personally, this one cracks me up - Stover has an eye for details. The kid with his hands in his mouth makes me laugh every time.

You can pick up If Everybody Did on Amazon.com for about eight bucks. - Jeremiah

Free Spirit Publishing has the best line of behavior books that we've seen for toddlers and preschoolers. Each simple board book addresses one behavior issue presenting the problem (hitting, biting, using hurtful words, minimizing germ sharing, etc) and then presents a solution in a gentle, positive manner.



We read Hands Are Not For Hitting to Z often when she went through her two-year-old hitting phase. After reading it, we'd notice that she'd actively try to control her hitting and redirect her anger in a more positive way.

As cold and flu season is now upon us, we've been checking out the Germs Are Not For Sharing book which teaches kids how to prevent the spreading of germs and when to wash hands. Germs is sort of an abstract concept for toddlers and preschoolers and Germs Are Not For Sharing does a good job of making germs a more concrete idea - having a child wave goodbye to the germs.

Words Are Not For Hurting is going to be read a lot more often in our household. Z has entered a very sassy phase where she's experimenting with the way that words work and the emotions that they ellicit (read, she's saying things to be deliberately hurtful). This book, like all the books in Free Spirit's Best Behavior Series (take a look - there are several more!), is an excellent introduction or reminder for kids experimenting with language.

Each book in the set has a two-page spread at the end with tips for parents about dealing with the issue at hand. These tips are generally positive and gentle in nature encouraging parents to be mindful of their own actions, remembering that modeling behavior is often the best way to change it in our children. Free Spirit Publishing has these books set for ages 4-8 but honestly, who couldn't use a gentle reminder that words are not for hurting and germs are not for sharing? - Jennifer