Pig the Pug Gives Preschoolers A Lesson In Sharing
Teaching toddlers and preschoolers to share is perhaps one of the least enjoyable parts of parenting! After all, mommy doesn't share her toys with her friends, does she? Moms, Dads, and little ones will relate to Pig the Pug, who has to learn the hard way that sharing is part of life (until you're old enough to buy your own 'stuff'!)
by Ally Cooper
(she doesn't like to share either)
"Pig was a Pug and I'm sorry to say, he was greedy and selfish in most every way."
I think we can all relate to Scholastic's Pig the Pug story, whether you have a toddler screaming 'MINE!' underfoot, or you just made yourself a coffee and your spouse helped himself. Sometimes, it's hard to share.
I recall sitting in a Kindergarten orientation session just before my oldest was to attend school for the first time. All of us anxious first-time parents were hoping that our kids would behave themselves at school and not end up in the 'naughty corner' (ok they probably don't have that now but we all did when we were at school!)
One mom raised her hand and said "My kid isn't very good at sharing. I'm really afraid he's going to have a hard time." First of all - SUPER BRAVE mom - and the nodding heads around us all let her know that her son was going to have lots of competition for the Least Likely to Share award that they should probably consider adding to the curriculum. The teacher's response took us all off guard:
"He doesn't have to share. If he's playing with something, then he can play with it. We don't believe in making kids immediately share things that they are engaged in. Once he's done playing with it, someone else can take a turn."
Wow! Now THAT was an experienced, kid-friendly approach. WAY easier than expecting Junior to pass over the toy train to boy #2 the moment he got his hands on it.
Of course, this is supposed to be a book review of Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey, but I just had to open with that very memorable moment - because as much as we constantly as parents are telling our kids to share! it's darn hard, and certainly as adults we don't do a heck of a lot of sharing ourselves!
But back to the Pug. He's cute and sweetly illustrated, and pretty grumpy about sharing. He's got lots of toys and food, but no way is he sharing him with his friend Trevor, who suggests that playing together might be fun...
In his desire to protect all his stuff from the possibility of sharing, Pig piles his stuff high, and unfortunately so high that he gets his doggy self to window height, tumbles backward, and as they say: Pigs cannot fly...
I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say that Pig the Pug learns the lesson the hard way. It's a bit tongue in cheek and kids will get a good laugh at poor Pig's expense - and maybe be a bit more inclined to take turns with the toddler beside them at circle time.
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