Often times when I am around multiple children, I frequently hear the word share. Whether it’s adults saying, “Share with….” or children echoing the words of their parents by saying “Mom said share!” I’m sure it comes as no surprise, but even I use to always say share. It wasn’t until I learned about introducing and using the phrase “take turns” that I drastically slowed up with my use of the word share. This blog post is all about how to transition out the word “share” and introduce the phrase “taking turns”
Same Goal
I won’t get into much about sharing because I sure we are all familiar with it. Taking turns has the same underlying goal as sharing. We want the other child or children to have a chance to play with or utilize something that a child has. I think the reason it was so easy for me to transition from sharing to taking turns was the similarity in goals.
You might be interested in: Is Sharing Really Caring when it comes to Toddlers?
Why it Might be better
In my opinion, taking turns is a better phrase than simply saying share because it lets the child know that it is time-bound. By saying “Right now it’s (child’s name) turn, soon it will be your turn” That lets the child know that just because they don’t have it right now, doesn’t mean they never will have it. This eases their anxiety about the situation. Whenever we tell a child to share, they have no inclination about when they’ll get it back.
Use a Timer
A great way to ensure that each child has the same allotted time with the item is by using a timer. You could use the timer on your phone, a sand timer, or even a small kitchen timer. After the timer goes off say “Okay, its (the other child’s name) turn.”, and then reset the timer.
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