{"id":48827,"date":"2023-01-11T23:31:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T23:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/?post_type=first-things&p=48827"},"modified":"2023-01-25T22:35:17","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T22:35:17","slug":"learning-to-share","status":"publish","type":"first-things","link":"https:\/\/www.ftf-stg.magnetry.com\/es\/first-things\/learning-to-share\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning to share"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharing is caring. It\u2019s a social skill that is very important to many parents, seen as part of being a good brother or sister, a good friend, and a good child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many parents also have unrealistic expectations about when little ones are capable of sharing. <\/span>A recent survey<\/span><\/a> showed that 43% believe children can master this skill before age 2. The truth is, young children aren\u2019t ready to share as early as you might think.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is sharing?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Oftentimes, when parents want their child to share, they really mean they want their child to take turns, a similar, but slightly different concept.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharing involves giving <\/span>some<\/span><\/i> of something to someone else, like asking your child to give some of a banana to their younger sibling. Taking turns, though, involves asking a child to give <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> of someone they want away to another child. Both of these skills can be difficult for young children, who are generally self-focused, which is a normal part of how they develop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to note that all children struggle with sharing and turn taking in early childhood,\u201d said Kat Willard, Senior Director of Family Support and Literacy at First Things First, \u201cbecause they have not yet developed the skill set to share or take turns.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning to share requires children to understand their own feelings and to recognize that other people have feelings, too. These are advanced social and emotional skills for young children, who are still developing their sense of self and learning about the world around them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Child development experts say that most little ones don\u2019t learn how to share until around age 3 or 4. And some children may be even older before they fully understand the concept and learn how to share.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs parents, and as a society, we often want things from our children that they are not capable of doing,\u201d said Willard. \u201cWe need to remember that, relatively speaking, they just got here on our earth and have only been learning about the way our world works for a very brief period of time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n