Here’s why.
Most parents encourage their children to share with others from a very young age, but some experts say that sharing can actually cause more harm than good.
A parenting technique that has been rising in popularity recently- not forcing your child to share things.
In early education, we are taught to play and get along with other children and parents often promote sharing during this time of their child’s life.
However, experts have been backing the technique, and here’s why.
Speaking to VeryWellFamily about how you should never force your child to share, Dr Laura Markham said that sharing can actually teach children the wrong lessons.
Such as crying will get you what you want or that children should pause what they’re working on to give something to another child just because the other child asks.
Parenting coach, Avital says that brain development in children under the age of five has not caught up with the idea of sharing because they don’t see someone else as a separate individual.
They also don’t understand that someone else’s wants and needs might be different from their own.
Although, some experts say sharing can have a negative effect on children, they have outlined more positive ways to teach them how to share without forcing them or causing any tantrums.
According to The Irish Sun Avital said: “One way to help kids with the demand that they share their toys is to ask them, pre-play date, which toys they’re not going to want to share today.
“Together you can store those toys out of sight so that they have some preemptive control.”
Avital also noted that sometimes it’s best to just let the children figure it out for themselves because “they’re only children at play”.
The experts said that parents should model the behaviour they want to see in their children and should emphasis each time they share themselves.
Children are likely to copy that behaviour and adopt it as their norm.
