What's the best way to teach sharing?

[Spangles]

What has everyone found to be successful ways to introduce sharing to children of between 2 and 3?

My little boy is not too bad at sharing but I have a mindee who's 2.5 and he's not very good at all and can get a bit rough.

Other than just explaining it to him as and when problems arise are there any games, etc that I've not though of that might help?

[Banana]

I teach sharing by playing lots of games that need more than one player and then when they are playing say stuff like

'oh look A, you and B did that together isnt it good that you both helped each other, sharing a game makes it mnore fun to play' etc etc..

Or you can go the other way, when they wont share. I did this to Isabelle the other day.

We were all playing Hungry hippos and all of a sudden belle decided she wanted to play by hersefl and nobody could share. I said but if you dont share the game will be boring. 'No I will do it myself its mine'
Fine, I got mindees and we went and did a jigsaw together and I said 'you stay and play hippos then belle and we'll all do a jigsaw together'

She sat for about 2 minutes glaring at me and then asked very nicely if everybody would come and play again. Shes such a little madam!

x

[peggy]

i'm going through this with my own and my mindee they are exactly the same age - aged 2.

I think all you can do is to lead them really show them how to share, reward them when they do.

I do lots of turn taking with them too, whenever i can going up the slide, through the tunnel, giving out paper, crayons etc which i think is helping.

Some days they get on wonderfullly, others like today for example they can be in fisty cuffs, and in a case like that i do time out and then explain to them what happened etc (how much they understand i dont know!) but i always get them to kiss and make up and we move on.

I too would love to hear of some games which will encourage sharing!!!

[fionamal]

I tend to play " Pass the Parcel" that teaches them to share the parcel in passing it to each other and taking turns in taking one layer of paper off.

It generally works as we then introduce toys to pass around and they all get 2 mins each with it and then pass it on.

[Twinkles]

If one of them is hogging two toys and won't share i say to him/her 'now which one would you like to give to x'. This gives them a choice but not the choice of not sharing.

[miffy]

I agree using games is a great way to show children it's more fun to play together, share and take turns.

For the younger children it's often a problem when the baby becomes mobile and just takes what they want so I teach my older toddlers to offer baby something in exchange rather than just snatch whatever they took back and that usually works well

Miffy xx