Children can often struggle with sharing, which is completely understandable. Their young and still-developing brain doesn’t fully comprehend this social concept. However, it is important for them to learn how to share sooner rather than later because it will help them make friends and teach them valuable skills like patience, compromise, and teamwork. If you want to teach your children how to share, here are the best ways to do it.
Practice Sharing Around Them
Children learn best from practical examples. This means you should practice sharing around them while explaining what you’re doing. This can be anything from splitting a piece of chocolate between two of you or sharing your things with other members of the family.
Use a Turn-Taking Strategy
The turn-taking strategy is highly efficient when it comes to teaching children how to share. This way, they will realize that just because they gave up something, it doesn’t mean they have lost it forever. You can use the turn-taking strategy with toys, games, and other activities.
Encourage Sharing
You should never force your kids to share their things. However, encouraging them to do so in a gentle way is quite beneficial. You can create situations that offer opportunities for sharing and explain to them why this kind of behavior is good. Also, you can offer rewards that will entice them to share more.
Acknowledge Sharing
When you notice that your child is practicing sharing, it is important to acknowledge it and praise them for doing that. This will provide positive reinforcement and encourage them to repeat the same acts.