Toddler behavior is a topic widely written about. Toddlers and the issue of sharing has driven many child care workers from the field and driven many parents to tears. How come 'toddlers and sharing' this sort of hot topic in child care staff meetings and then in parent conversations?

Not long ago i attended a 2 year old birthday party in the home setting with my almost 3 year old. Four children arrived concurrently, amidst the flurry of holding babies and mothers being introduced to one another. In a corner of the area stood a brand new ride-in car... just one! In the first 10-20 minutes, my daughter had a cut lip from being pushed from the car, and she consequently had almost run over another child's head. I am a young childhood teacher... I found myself meeting a whole new social selection of Mums... and that i was mortified!

I believe it's really easy to forget that toddlers and preschoolers really are a bundle of energy and inquisitiveness, which until a minimum of 2 years of age, they may be completely ego-centric. In accordance with them, they are the centre in the universe. Learning how to share can be a normal part of child development. However, where child care workers and parents can come unstuck is if they are not prepared for the educational process and are not pre-emptive with their approaches to support toddlers in this period of social growth.

These strategies and tips can be a novice to you, or may simply be a reminder of some ways we could support toddlers while they learn how to share:

1. Go on a Step Back

As parents and child care workers, we seem to have 'danger radars'. We can easily enter a fresh environment and immediately (and frequently sub-consciously) survey the full room and opt for any items which can be dangerous to our own precious children. I will recall a few houses I actually have visited and within seconds have noticed the scissors about the low coffee table or the hot coffee about the fringe of the dining table (and naturally discreetly moved them). Why then, should we not perform same in terms of seeing potential 'sharing dangers'?

If we are responsible (being a parent or child care worker) for youngsters moving to a different environment we must quickly take a step back and survey potential sharing hazards. The morning arrival routine within a centre is a great example. The arrival is staggered and quite often we give attention to greeting each child (which is positive!) but we forget which every arriving child brings a change in group dynamic. The kid is often centered on heading straight for their favorite activity, no matter who is definitely there. When we step back and survey the child's arrival within the context in the whole group, we can easily better pre-empt and manage sharing behavior issues.

2. Provide Adequate Resources

While we cannot necessarily provide one resource per child in a child care setting, we can easily provide a couple of play space per child, and multiples of favourite activities. We have encountered a number of child care centres in despair across the behaviour in their toddler room, simply to observe inadequate places for the kids to perform. Think about the movement of toddlers within the following scenario:

Toddler room: 16 children

Activities Provided:

Playdough (4 chairs)

Painting (2 easel spaces)

Puzzles (4 chairs)

Books (4 cushions)

Blocks (no set number)

In this particular scenario there are actually 14 allocated play spaces within a room for 16 children, with no set quantity of children from the block corner. Children will end up on top of the other person, usually congregate inside the block corner, and cannot freely flow between activities... this is just what I would call a 'sharing hazard'! Centres must provide no less than 1.5 play spaces per child indoors, which inside the above scenario would mean there must be at the least 24 places a youngster can start to play at any one time. (Our recommendation is that outdoors ought to have more playspaces than indoors).

3. Turn Taking Games

Children should try to learn how you can share, it will not happen by accident! Activities and games, undertaken in a environment backed up by adults, can help children finding out how to wait while still involved in the activity in anticipation in their turn coming soon.

The bottom line is to produce the turn taking or waiting time age appropriate. We cannot expect a 2? year old to hold back their turn among 20 children and in addition be prepared to maintain their attention. Alternatively, we ought to be challenging the 4 year old to wait for extended periods in larger group sizes.

4. Turn Taking Language

When beginning the process of helping children to share with you, we have to use 'turn taking language' for example "my turn, your turn", "whose turn next?", "let's let Michael use a go". We can easily be exploring maths skills concurrently by discussing whose transform it is "first", "second", "next" etc. As we take advantage of this language increasingly more, we will realize that children themselves commence to apply it too.

5. Turn Taking Supports

It could be extremely tough for kids to picture the length of time it will likely be before it can be their turn. There are a number of turn taking supports which help children during this process of waiting:

Egg Timers - where children know they may have up until the sand runs out to obtain their turn. Alternatively they only need to waiting up until the sand finishes before it is actually their turn next.

Turn Taking Cards - In preschoolers, children can be given colour coded cards, realizing that anyone with the blue card goes first, next the red card and so on. A matching 'turn chart' might help children remember which colours are provided a turn in which order.

Charts - Teenagers (four years ) can "sign-up" with regard to their turn by writing their name in the chart. They may visually see that they need to wait through 4 other people until their turn.

Watches and Other Timers - are also beneficial to teenagers who have learnt to know time.

5. Praise the behavior not simply the kid for sharing

When praising children for their efforts in turn taking and sharing, you should be sure you praise the behaviour rather than just your child. By way of example, it is more effective to say "Well done Lisa for giving Hannah a turn,... which was good sharing", rather than simply "Good Girl Lisa." Be specific as to what the little one is doing that had been positive which will help them to understand what positive action to take the next time.

6. Understand the Process of Understanding How To Share

We need to do not forget that finding out how to share is really a skills we carry on and learn throughout life. A couple, newly sharing housing accommodation together, need to find out to share space, food, possibly furniture etc. Once we realize just how many marriages break up across the issue of sharing, we could learn to forgive to tiny two year old because of not looking to share the ride on car or perhaps the swing.

Initially, toddlers is only able to wait short periods before expecting their turn again. A preschooler or older child might be likely to wait 5 - 10-20 minutes or more for turn.

Colorado Toddler Care

Initially, toddlers have to be the first one to have a turn before relinquishing the product. A preschooler or older child can be encouraged to let 'the other' child have a turn first.

Learning to share takes time and takes great patience and encouragement from adults looking after them!