By Karah St. Preux

“Sharing is caring”. It’s one of the first ideas that kids are taught when they are young. Sharing is important because it allows kids to learn about fairness and cooperation. It also helps kids make friends and learn about compassion. Sharing provides children with vital life skills that will help them be social, and sharing also helps children to learn about compromise. What are some of the best ways to teach your kids how to share?

1. Play games with your child(ren) that encourages sharing

Playing games with kids that encourages cooperation instead of competitiveness is a perfect way to enforce the ideas of sharing. Playing these types of games allows for a lesson to be taught, but allows so in a fun way! One idea for a game to play with your kid(s) is a singing pass-along! One person can hold a ball and sing a lyric to a song, and the next person who gets the ball sings the next lyric. This can continue with multiple people in the game, and your child can begin to learn the important skills of fairness and patience.

2. Share Supplies During a Creative Activity

By making a drawing or painting with your child, this will show them the ways in which they can share with others. By asking your kid(s) to pass you a paint brush or sharing paint colors with each other, you can instill in your child’s mind that sharing is a normal part of everyday life.

3. Teach Time-Sharing

One important way to learn about sharing is to learn how to share time with another person. It is important for kids to learn that they need to share one’s attention with others. If you have multiple children, then you can spend time with one of them by playing games,  and then have your other children wait for their turn to play with you. This will let your children know that it is important to be patient, and it will show them that they need to share time and attention with others.

4. Share Toys With Each Other

One of the most classic ways to teach sharing is by showing your children that they need to share their belongings with others. If you have multiple children then sharing toys is a great way to show them fairness and compassion with each other. Each child will be able to learn that they need to cooperate with one another, and it will provide them with many skills that can follow them into adulthood.

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What are some ways you teach your kids to share? Let us know in the comments below!