If you have siblings who won't share, then you may be looking for ways to teach your child to share. Children have to be taught about things which we know will hold them in good stead in life and will also mean they won't be ostracized or considered social pariahs. Teaching your child good sharing etiquette might seem a cinch but once children and toys are involved, it can be a case of survival of the quickest. These ways to teach your child to share with siblings or other friends will help ensure they will have lots of friends.
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1. Set Time Aside
One of the ways to teach your child to share is to set aside time when you can interact and play with them. Children learn best when they have an adult or parent working with them. Help your child to get the toys out and lay them out on an open area so that you have room to play with them.
2. Model Behavior
Letting your child remain in control of their play is also important. If they're climbing on the furniture and you want them to play with the building blocks, start building a tower and they will see what you're doing and will soon want to join in or build their own.
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3. Monitor
Look at how the children are interacting and keep mental notes about how they're playing with the toys. Is one child playing with a toy for a long period of time whilst it is clear that another child wants to play with that particular toy? Is there any teasing or withholding of toys amongst them? Keep a mental note of how they're playing with each other.
4. Calm
Remaining calm and maintaining a neutral tone when teaching children the importance of sharing is also key. Explaining how sharing works and the positive impact it has is essential. Try saying things like "It's good manners to share" and "Be nice to Sarah and share your toys" or "Look how she gets upset when you don't share". These calm and reinforcing phrases can help drive home the importance of sharing in life, not only during play time.
5. Positivity
Rather than telling children what you 'don't' want them to do, they often respond better by telling them what you 'do' want them to do. For example, rather than saying "Don't take that away from her!" try saying something like "Give Sarah the doll to play with please". Also praise them for good sharing behavior by saying "What a great sharer you are!" They will soon learn that sharing is caring.
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6. Time out
If your child refuses to share, then it might be an idea to put them in the time-out area so they can reflect and see that what they're doing is unacceptable. This spot away from the play area will help them to calm down and hopefully they return in a more cooperative mood. When they equate not sharing with being put in an area where they can't do what they enjoy, they will soon learn the consequences of their actions.
7. Life Skills
Through learning how to share in play, children are developing skills which will help them in life, not just the play room. Reinforce these skills throughout the day such as at dinner time or any other time of the day when they might be around others.
Children need to develop many skills as they grow up and these are just a few tips to teach children how to share. Does anyone else have any other helpful tips?
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