When I first moved to San Diego, a bit lonely and lost, with a toddler in tow, I joined a moms group. Somehow, I completely lucked out! A very kind woman with a son about a year older than mine came up to me. She offered me a bunch of clothes that her son had outgrown. Then she invited us to the park for a play date.
When we got to the park, both boys headed straight for the sandbox. My new friend, in her awesome way, was so prepared! She didn’t bring many toys, but she had two of each type – two shovels, two buckets, two rakes, two dump trucks. She had collected them at yard sales.
Learning to Share
At the time, my son was still too young to understand that someone else might want what he was playing with. Her son, on the other hand, was old enough to have some strong ideas about whether it was time for a rake or a dump truck. However, if one kid wanted what the other one had, it was easy to keep them both happy. We could simply offer them a similar toy.
Later on, as the two boys got older and became firm friends, they learned to share and play together cooperatively. In the beginning, though, it was so relaxing not to have to constantly try to get them to share.
What are your experiences helping your young children to learn how to share? And what are your thoughts about my friend’s strategy for making this play date go smoothly?
You can find some more good reads on sharing below. The second one actually talks about when it’s okay not to share. Let us know what you think about teaching your child to share by leaving a reply below!
One Response
My opinion about kids sharing is very important . I have two toddlers at home and they usually want the same thing, so during Christmas or their birthday I try to get them the same toy and ask family to do so as well .