View of the Mayor's Office desk in Opal City with official papers, a bowl of candy, and windows overlooking the city

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Under Pressure

Name: Under Pressure
Availability: InStock
Author: Wanderly

It's your turn to be Mayor of Opal City for a week! Everyone in Opal City takes turns being mayor, and now it's your chance to help solve problems and bring people together. When someone comes to your office needing help, what will you do?

ConfidenceHelpfulnessResilienceRelationship SkillsSocial AwarenessDecision MakingLuxterra

About This Story

What your child will experience

Your child becomes the Mayor of Opal City for a week, welcoming visitors with real problems that need solving. They'll listen to two different perspectives on the same conflict—neighbors in disagreement, festival planners with competing ideas, or community members facing a challenge together. Through branching choices, they'll practice pausing to understand before acting, brainstorming solutions, and calling on community helpers to collaborate. No one in the story is a "bad guy"—both sides have valid needs.

Why this approach helps

This story builds perspective-taking and collaborative problem-solving skills. By positioning your child as a capable leader, it reinforces that they can contribute meaningfully to their community. The structure mirrors conflict resolution strategies (listen, understand different viewpoints, brainstorm together, and take action) in a low-stakes, playful format. Over time, this practice supports empathy growth, confidence in handling disagreements, and awareness that helping means listening, not just fixing.

What to notice as a parent

Pay attention to which perspectives your child gravitates toward and how they approach solutions. Do they rush to fix things or pause to understand? Their choices offer clues about how they might handle real-world conflicts with siblings or friends. If they choose creative or silly solutions, that's valuable exploration—follow up gently with "What made you think of that?" to understand your own child's perspective and imagination.

Personalize This Story

Make this story truly special by adding these details:

✓Who do you want to be as Mayor?
✓What problem will you help solve as Mayor?
✓What candy is on the Mayor's desk?

Story Questions

Questions your child may be asked while creating this story:

What do you think your visitor is feeling?
How are these both visitor's perspectives similar?
How should the main character suggest to solve the problem?
Who does the main character call upon?

Loved by Families

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— Taryn S

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“As an lifelong educator, I give this app an enthusiastic 5 stars+. With opportunity to choose and name characters, type of story and plot ... what could be more creative? What could be a more productive use of screen time? I love that this app was created and is carefully monitored by a Mom of young kids. She also happens to have technical/AI chops ... she was a Google Product Manager in their Education Products sector. The graphics are quite lovely, the story lines are fun and age-appropriate.”

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