Sharing

Cynthia (nanny):

This picture is so funny, yet so true. Two year old twins definitely are believers in this principle.

It seems to me, the topic of sharing could be an ongoing discussion we have with kids of all ages. I'm going to share some of the  strategies I have used and am using currently to help kids understand and practice sharing.

Tips to teach sharing:

1. Model: You as the adult have to set the example and expectation of sharing. During working time or free time make it a point to share something of yours with your child (food, toys, art supplies, etc) and say, "here I'll share my _____ with you." If they offer to share something with you, make sure to say something like "thank you for sharing your ____ with me. That makes me so happy." They want and need your positive praise and approval in order to understand your expectations.

2. Roleplay: very similar to modeling, but this is more of you acting out a scenario of what sharing should actually look like using the same language as in the modeling example. The most important part of role playing is showing the non desired behavior. This is where your inner actress comes out. Throw tantrums, pout, whine, whatever it is you've seen your own children doing while not sharing. With older kids you can give them a scenario and have them act it out. Afterwards, talk about which way better demonstrated sharing.

3. Set a timer: Timers are a great tool to have around for so many reasons. If children are having trouble knowing when their turn is over, set a timer for a few minutes (I'd say kids under 5 should be timed for no longer than five minutes) and when the timer goes off, it's time to hand over the toy.

4. Books: There's no better way to hit a point home than to read a book about a topic you're working on with kids. They can also lead to great extension activities. Here are a few I had on hand that may help:

We share everything: Robert Munsch

The Very Greedy Bee: Steve Smallman

Clifford's manners: Norman Bridwell

The Rainbow Fish: Marcus Pfister

Arielle (mommy): For little ones sharing can be one of the most difficult things to do.  Some kids may not fully grasp the concept of sharing until they are 5, so it's important to be patient and not get discouraged!  In the mean time there are a lot of good ways to teach and reinforce sharing.  

Cynthia mentioned books as a great way to help teach sharing.  One of her book suggestions, Rainbow Fish, is about a fish who shares his sparkly scales with other fish and it makes him feel good (if you don't have the book you can show this video of the book on youtube).

Since Lil had a friend over today, it was a great opportunity to do this activity.  After we read and discussed the book, I showed Lil and her friend E how to make a rainbow fish.  We talked about how many shiny scales there were (very few) and discussed what we should do to make it fair.  They shared the shiny scales so they both had the same amount.  One of the glue sticks broke during the activity and they even ended up sharing that too.  Happy accident :)