(905) 946-1181Children find sharing difficult, especially the youngest ones as they are usually focussed on fulfilling their own needs. Teaching your child to share is an integral but challenging part of parenting. The skill of sharing needs to be taught, in the right ways. This blog outlines the most effective strategies to do just that.
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Simple Tips to Teach Your Kids to Share
You can educate your little ones to share with the help of the following tips.
- Do Not Force
Never pressure your children to share with others. Instead, encourage them. Children love their toys and, as a parent, you should respect their attachment to their most precious possessions. Let your children mix with others in a group play environment and observe their behaviour. This will teach you a lot about them and the kind of direction they need to be generous. If your kids snatch things from others, teach them to ask permission, otherwise no one will want to play with them. If they are always the givers, teach them how to say ‘no’ politely to others. Kids are usually selfish in their formative years and become more socially aware as they grow. Proper parenting will make your children realize that life goes more smoothly if they share.
- Stay Connected
The more connected you are to your children, the more giving they will become. If your kids receive attached parenting in their initial two years, they are more likely to share their valuables with others. When you show them generosity, they feel like behaving the same way. Children attached to their parents always feel secure with their self-image. To be confident, your kids need a little bit of daily attention. Take time to build a strong connection and give them what they need. If you have more than one child, give equal attention to all of them.
- Teach Through Play
Play games with your children frequently as the activity keeps them engaged. Teach them that sharing is normal and spreads joy. As games hold a child’s attention, you can teach them almost anything you want in the spirit of fun. They are more likely to remember what they have been taught while playing than in lectures. Try to fill your playwith positive characteristics like generosity, honesty, humour, concentration, obedience, flexibility and sensitivity. Kids may experience negative emotions such as jealousy, cheating, lying and selfishness during play, but you should focus on teaching them how to live positively by sharing with others.
- Protect Your Children’s Interests
When teaching your children about sharing, do not forget to protect their valuables. As their parent, you should guard their precious toys when someone tries to snatch them. Make your child comfortable with the concept of sharing but respect the ownership of their possessions. Tell others directly that they should not play with the toy until your child allows them to do so. If you have a large family, maintain a balance between respect of ownership and teaching themabout sharing. Kids understand that some things are meant to be used by everyone in a family, such as the television and washing machine. But when something belongs only to your little one, you should take special care of it.
- Use a Timer
Set a timer to give every child an equal chance to play with a given toy. Give two minutes to a young child and ask the older ones to wait. When you switch off the timer, hand over the toy to a second child for the same duration. The younger ones may not be willing to, but talk to them politely, with a smile, and assure them that they will get it back. When you use timers, your children learn how to take turns and be patient. If this method fails, you can put a toy on the shelf and tell them it will stay there until they agree to share. Sooner or later, children will realize that it is better to share it than not play with it at all.
Follow the above-mentioned guidelines to teach your children how to share. At Trillium School, experienced and caring teachers make this learning process enjoyable. They follow a balanced approach to teach kids the importance of sharing.