How to help children with sharing

1. Set an Example- Share With Your Children

Teach your children how to share by sharing yourself. They are then more likely to want to share with others.

Explain to your children why it is important to share. If they do not share their toys with their friends, then their friends are not going to share with them.

3. Set Some House Rules

Set some rules; everyone has to share. If their friends are coming to play talk to them beforehand to tell them, they have to share and be kind. Remind them that their friends allow them to play with their toys at their house.

4. Put Favourite Toys Away

After talking with your child, you could agree to put away a few of their favourite toys in a safe place so nobody can play with them. Some children get very attached to their toys, and it could cause them distress when others play with them and in their eyes, ruin them.

5. Take Some Toys With You

If your child is visiting a friends house who also is not keen on sharing yet, take a few toys with you. This means your child can happily play with some toys without upsetting the other child. They may even learn to share between themselves by swapping etc.

Children need to learn how to share all sorts of things, not just toys. If girls and boys are playing together, they should play each other’s activities such as dolls and animals. Most of the time, they will find a game they all enjoy, usually imaginative.

7. Group Activities

If all else fails, you could always encourage the children to participate in a group activity such as a puzzle or arts and crafts.

8. Be Reasonable – Offering Alternatives

If your child is attached to a certain toy or toys, offer their friend a different toy that is completely different.

9. Stay Relaxed – Reason is Better Than Force

Children find it very difficult to get around the idea of sharing. It may just take them a little extra time to get their head around it, so don’t rush them. Try to keep the peace and find alternatives to make everyone happy.

10. Praise and Then Praise Again

Remember to praise any child who shares with someone else. This will give them positive reinforcement and make them want to perform that behaviour again.