Sharing games for Toddlers

Sharing, the elusive toddler sharing - it seems that this is the holy grail of toddler developmental milestones, one that will with all hope stop the grabbing, hitting, bitting, crying and screaming. Sadly there is no miracle solution that I know of (please comment if you have one  I and a million other parents and teachers would LOVE to know) but there are some fun ways to explore the concept of sharing and make it fun. 


In our house we often use the tea set or a ball to explore the concept of sharing. I do this regularly with little t (no longer a baby so little t it is) and we also practice this with friends when they are over playing especially when sharing seems to be a struggle on that day. 

So here is the idea behind it. We set up the tea set and then take turns (share) the tea pot, sugar bowl and little milk jug. I may start with the tea pot and 'model' for a little while. I take a turn and then ask 'would you  like a turn?' Once that child has poured her tea or examined the tea pot for a short period of time I ask '___ would you like a turn with the tea pot?' then if the child says 'yes' I suggest to the child holding the tea pot 'Could you pass the tea pot to ____?' After the pot has been shared I find it is important to say 'thank you for sharing the tea pot ____!'.  We repeat this over and over and over. In the end I feel like I might have said the above statements and questions a million times but sometimes that is what it takes - repetition with a side of positive reinforcement on their sharing. eventually I sit back and they do it on their own. 

With a ball we sit in a circle and roll the ball between people. Pretty simple and self explanatory and again I may have to suggest to a child 'could you pass the ball to ____?' Once passed I reinforce with a 'Thanks for sharing the ball!' 






A few things I try to do in these activities 

• Keep it positive
• I always say please and thank you but don't prompt the kids to do it as they pick it up and will do it eventually on their own (This does not take long. Yahoo not only is it a sharing game but also one in manners!) 
• If someone does not want to share NEVER grab it from them (that will just teach them to grab if they want something) instead observe and sports cast what you see i.e 'I see that you have had ___ a long time and I bet ___ would like a turn. Could you please give ___ a turn when you are done?' 
• Positive renforcement, positive reinforcement, positive renforcement! 'Thank you for sharing with  ____!' 'Awesome, you said your welcome/please/thank you!', 'I love the way you are all sharing the tea set/ball' 'you all are doing a great job at sharing/taking turns!'
• Practice, practice, practice, this is not  a one shot deal it helps to practice sharing regularly 

I was doing this activity a few times last week and Baby Daddy suggested I share as he seemed well impressed with the game!