‘Sharing is caring’ is one of those life lessons that is often instilled in people from an early age.
But one mum has started a debate online after her powerful post on why her son “doesn’t have to share” his toys.
Taking to Reddit’s Choosing Beggars forum, she wrote [via indy100]:
“As soon as we walked I the park, Carson was approached by at least 6 boys, all at once.
“[They were] demanding that he share his transformer, Minecraft figure and truck. He was visibly overwhelmed and clutched them to his chest as the boys reached for them.
“He looked at me, [and I told him]: ‘You can tell them no, Carson. Just say no. You don’t have to say anything else.'”
The mum said that as soon as he said no, the other boys ran to her to “tattle” that her son wasn’t sharing.
She continued:
“I said, ‘He doesn’t have to share with you. He said no. If he wants to share, he will.’
“That got me some dirty looks from other parents.”
Sharing her reasoning, she pointed out it would be strange for an adult to share their food or other belongings with random strangers.
Therefore, she didn’t believe her little boy be expected to share with children he doesn’t know.
She said:
“Here is the thing though: If I, an adult, walked into the park eating a sandwich, am I required to share my sandwich with strangers in the park? No!
“Would any well-mannered adult, a stranger, reach out to help themselves to my sandwich, and get huggy if I pulled it away? No again.
“The goal is to teach our children how to function as adults.
“While I do know some adults who clearly never learned how to share as children, I know far more who don’t know how to say no to people, or how to set boundaries, or how to practice self-care. Myself included.”
Her post quickly went viral, with many of the other parents supporting her.
