How do I teach my kids to share?

Senior Member Joined: Jul 09 2009 Posts: 124

Hi have a 3 yr old and an 18 mo old, and all they seem to be doing a whole day is fighting over toys.
My 18 month old pulls toys away from the older one or messes up what hes playing with so the 3yr old, either throws him to the floor or hits him really hard.
If the 18 month old is playing with s/thing nicely the 3year old just goes and pulls it away and says its mine.
Ive tried time out and that isnt working, any Advice on how to get the to playing nicely together with out fighting and pulling things aeay from each other.
?

TIA

My kids nursery's motto used to be "sharing is caring". Teachers repeated the concept so many times the phrase and spirit behind it was drilled into the kids minds. Also there are picture books teaching children how to share and to take turns--check children's libraries.

Having said that, my 7.5yr old and 5 yr old still fight over the same toys/books/keyboard. The easy cop-out solution would be get two of the identical things but it's not economical and won't help them to learn how to share. I just monitor so that they take turns after X minutes.

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 02 2007 Posts: 2715

I remember reading a while back that it is unreasonable (from a developmental standpoint) to expect a child under 3 to share.

Diamond Member Joined: Apr 03 2006 Posts: 2620