SHARING IS CARING

Teaching my daughter to share and play with others has been exhausting. We are exposing her to new environments in hopes of creating opportunities to learn and grow.

Our latest adventure was an Arts and Craft class. She adores crayons, glue and feathers. Thus, she immediately took control of the large bins. It was not enough to have an endless supply, she had to have complete access. The poor tots sharing her table were obviously used to her behavior. They allowed her to dominate, but Dad and I made the necessary suggestions to encourage sharing.

We found the day rather easy, once our daughter warmed to the idea of playing amongst "friends". Praising and complimenting the tots relaxed the environment and also created a moments to have small talk with the other parents. The last cue comes from our day to day routine-we distract her and offer safer, less aggressive solutions.



Here are our tips for new playdates:

1. Call their peers friends.
2. Compliment them on sharing.
3. Praise the friend.
4. Distract. Distract. Distract.

How do you introduce new playdates?