Sharing

Dear J.,

Children are smarter than we give them credit for. They will only learn what we teach them. It is never to young to teach a child. They may not understand what we are trying to teach and why. But eventually they will understand. I have found that kids in my daycare that are taught at a younger age how to share are less likely to take toys away. I have one child who just turned 1 that shares pretty good. Doesn't take toys from other kids. Yet I have a three year old that if she wants something she takes it. Her parents say she is too young to teach to share. Depending on the childs age and understanding level is what you can teach him. Only you can tell if your child is ready to understand. I do agree with the other lady is making sure you tell him that mommy is sharing the apple or what ever the product is. Or ask him if mommy can see the toy he has, but make sure you tell him that your not taking it away.
Good Luck!
B.

I think the best way to teach is to lead by example. Give what you are doing a name. For example, Mommy would enjoy sharing this apple with you, etc.
I also read in some book that children really don't grasp the idea of sharing until they are four. They are able to go through the motions of sharing before then, but they really don't fully understand the meaning behind it until about four.

All ages, as soon as it is needed. You want to let them know right away that sharing is important and through constant letting them know they will learn. My daughter is almost 3 and although she may not like to share she is learning and is a whole lot better than when she say 2.

Hi J.,
I do a daycare and from what I have seen, all of my children do not really understand the concept of sharing until they are 3 yrs old. I think at 3 they understand the concept if you sit down with the children and talk to them. Sometimes due to having children who just simply do not want to, I then give the children a time limit. I have a kitchen timer and I will set it for 10 minutes. When the buzzer rings, the children will pass their toy to another child. I seem to have no problems when doing that method. Good Luck.

Not sure, but I think they need to be 12-18 months old to understand you and then to actually share.