Sharing is easily one of the most difficult lessons that children are faced with during their younger years. Here at Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center, we see quite a bit of them struggle with the concept of sharing. In our last blog post, we touched on a few of the lessons that you can start to work on at home, and sharing was one of them. Today, our team is going to go over a few tips that can make talking about and practicing sharing just a little bit easier. Let’s get started.
Set Boundaries for Sharing
This can be one of the more difficult things for parents to understand because it wasn’t always the way that we were taught growing up. With that being said, creating boundaries of when sharing should happen and when it’s simply an option can help a child understand the concept and make decisions that are much more aware. For example, sharing toys while at school is one of those times where sharing isn’t much of an option — it simply needs to happen. If, however, they brought their favorite toy or blanky to school, this isn’t an item that necessarily needs to be shared, but can if they so choose.
Use a Timer
Depending on the circumstances, a timer could be introduced to the scenario to give a hard start and stop time to the sharing. This might be a good tool to utilize with siblings that both want to play with the same toy. If, for example, both children want to spend time playing with the tablet, consider setting a timer or alarm for when one child’s turn has ended and the next child’s turn begins. Though this isn’t the best way to get children to willingly share a specific toy or item, it can help associate the idea of sharing with time. Slowly, children will begin to understand when their turn has ended and they need to share with someone else.
Explain the Permanence of the Situation
One of the many reasons that sharing is so difficult for children to do is because they feel as though they’re giving this item away for forever. As an adult it may seem silly that they think this, but the reality is that this is how they feel. That is why it can be extremely beneficial to explain that sharing does not mean that they are never going to see or play with the item again, they’re simply giving someone else some time to play. Understanding this can take some time, so do not get frustrated if it takes more than a few times for your little one to grasp this concept.
Switch Up Terminology
Every child is different, which is exactly why terminology can make a significant difference to how a child views the situation. If you notice that they’re having a tough time understanding the concept of sharing, try switching the terminology that you’re using. Words like “borrowing” or “taking turns” are some of the most common ways that children learn to share their toys with other children. At times, the way that another term is explained makes more sense to a child and makes them all the more eager to share their belongings and other classroom items with their peers.
Contact Us Today
Sharing is one of the many lessons that we work on here at Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center. While it is incredibly important for children to grasp this lesson within the classroom, it’s something that they need to understand and exercise regularly and for the rest of their lives. This is exactly why we believe it’s such an important lesson to teach. Help us in making sharing a lesson that all children understand and utilize both in school and at home.
Genuinely, our focus is providing children with an experience that they enjoy and learn from. Contact our office today if you’re interested in learning more about the programs that we offer or you’d like to get your child enrolled. We would also be more than happy to schedule a tour of our facility for you. Simply reach out to us and let us know what we can do to help you.
