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Share and Share Alike
Preventing Bad Behavior from the Start
By Michele Borba
Learning to share is one of the first friendship skills children learn, and they generally begin to learn it around age 2 or 3. Learning to share is hard for little ones who are, by nature, self-centered.
Here are tips to teach this essential skill to your child:
- Model how to share. The best way kids learn isn't by our lectures but showing them. So show your child how to share. Get on the floor with your little one and gently roll a rubber ball back and forth between you. As you do, say "My turn, now it's your turn. Roll it back to Mommy." Your child will begin to get the idea that sharing means taking turns.
- Create sharing boundaries. One way to minimize friend conflicts is to help your child put away any special toys he does not want to share before the playgroup arrives. Then say: "Any toys you leave out are things you have to share."
