Have you ever reminded your toddler about sharing toys when headed to preschool or to a play date? It’s totally normal and I see it every day when interacting with children and their parents. We as parents, want our children to be social and conscious of those around them and that’s wonderful. Sharing is caring, right? But that might not be true when it comes to toddlers. Today, in this blog, I am going to give you the real scoop on sharing when it comes to toddlers.
How children view the world
Once children enter this world they see it with their own tiny eyes. To them, this world is their own and revolves around them. Ultimately, children are born egocentric. They struggle for years to see the world from a different perceptive.
Most of our children enter preschool or a mothers-day-out program around 2 years old, also known as “terrible twos”. There, they are surrounded by many new children, new adults, and new toys. It can be a really exciting time. Their tiny fingers cannot wait to explore their new surroundings. Everything in their sight is theirs even if they haven’t declared it yet.
It can be sad and frustrating seeing our children yank toys from the hands of their peers or hitting, kicking and screaming bloody murder over a toy that they desire to play with.
When will sharing begin?
Sharing is something that takes time to learn and perfect. According to Piaget, children are egocentric until about age 6. Now, that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to share until six, but that does mean that they will still be viewing the world from solely their perspective, and they may struggle with empathizing with others.
Luckily enough our children learn a great deal from us. As you have probably already heard, we are our child’s first teacher. My tip to you is to be more cognizant of your actions and reactions surrounding sharing from their perceptive and from your own.
Many times, when we are in the heat of a sharing battle our focus is usually on the child that is not receiving the toy. We may say things like, “share!” or “give him that toy”. I’d encourage you to look at it from both aspects. You might be amazed at what you conclude.
When our children are in their egocentric stage they are thinking about their happiness, their survival, and their needs. Which honestly makes sense. Before we can care for and love others we must care for and love ourselves, so the next time your little one is refusing to share just remember he is still learning about life from his own perspective.
When it comes to sharing, it is not an easy task to tackle. Struggling to overcome the sharing battle with your little one? Take the next step in elevating your parenting here.
What are your thoughts about children sharing? Comment below.
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Meet The Blogger
Hi, I’m Emily.…
thechildsworldblog.com 