Toddler is the perfect age to teach the child a lesson in generosity. That sharing is not bad and albeit good. You can begin by making the toddler focus on his belonging particullarly his favorite toy or maybe his pillow. That if he lends it to his older sibling, there is a sort of return. Parents sometimes let the toddler grow and wait until the child is age 7 before teaching generosity. There is a tendency for the child to be selfish that way.
You are right Alexandoy, it is much better to teach children to be generous right from a very early age. As they get used to having things for themselves and not sharing with others, if we leave it till they are much older, then they will just see it as something that we are doing to deprive them of their things. So it is better to start very early. Also, as children often learn from their parents' behavior, the parents should also come across as generous people to the kids.
A pat on the back each time a toddler shares something could go a long way in that becoming a habit that will stick as the toddler grows.
Well I must say that that is a very good idea. I would like add a little topping to the burger. A parent, should also ensure that they lead by example. Let the toddler take part in some of your activities and consistently use the word "let us share" in your sentences. For example, when wiping the table, let the child also have a piece of cloth to do the same, if they show interest. In a nice way, you can tell them, "Grab a piece of cloth and let us share this duty." This way, they will familiarize themselves with the word and hence they can readily apply it in their lives. The parent should also let the child know of their discontentment when the child acts in a selfish manner, but shower them with praises if they act in a generous manner. However, the parent should not try to force the child to be generous as they may get the exact opposite result. Instead, they should be consistently on the lookout, for opportunities, to teach the child to be generous.
I would say that you could start teaching a child generosity at a very young age and a nice age to begin would be from 3 to 4 years of age. At this preschool age they are becoming more social and so friendships are very important to them-also activities are of interest to a child at this age as well. The child really identifies with possessions at this age and they really do not like to share them either-so the child really gets caught up with these toys-but you could share some activities with the kid,like watering the garden and also try to use the word share when you show them these activities. You could also have the child share their toys with another and show them that they will get the item back afterwards. Also make sure you praise the child after they share with the other children-and they will get into the habit of understanding these rituals.
It is important to teach a child to have the value of giving.However I think it is also important for us to address the issue of over-sharing.We should train the child to understand that with generosity it is good to also know your friend's lest you attract bullying and over-dependence.In the case of my young cousin,his mother taught him to share a lot and we later came to realize that the young boy had been giving his lunch to another boy in his class in the name of generosity.It took a long time for his mother to undo the training she had given him and restart again.
I read this and started laughing immediately because it's practically what is obtainable in most kids, especially toddlers. They have a way of making you give them things just because they are little and so adorable, but try asking them to give some of what you just gave them, it's either they hide it behind their backs or start crying immediately that you wanted to take what's theirs. I think it takes a while before they start realizing it's normal to share things with others. In fact, if your kids have difficulty in giving, just don't force it as they grow, they would understand the art of giving and receiving as well.
This is one where you can never really start too early, and often times you may not even have to teach it. One of the best parts of when I used to work with kids was seeing them like to share. Some of them anyways, and then there were others.
Its not hard to teach generosity to toddlers at their age. A story is told to children where I come from. There were 3 kids one belonging to a parent who had two bananas to give them. Of course, one was going to miss. She maneuvered sound this by giving each of the other children a whole banana and told them to give a half to her kid. And everybody won!
I like this story and it is an ideal situation where the kids learn to share their stuff with others. When we teach our children to share things, we must also talk to them about the feel-good factor that arises from sharing things with others. I also feel that children majorly learn things from their parents so they should also see their own parents giving and sharing things with others.
I am glad to note that children these days are being nice to each other and being taught the virtue of sharing and behaving well. In fact all the playschools keep their emphasis on this very aspect which makes perfect future citizen. I have attended couple of children support organization in India and Australia and find them doing well. In fact the children today are getting far better training on these topics.
Just like kindness begins at home. I think there's no age limit when to teach or instill the virtue or value of generous. Generosity could easily catch fire when it is or becomes the way of life everyone in the family. Generosity is not only practice in offering or giving foods, things but by giving praises, commendation for a job well done. A tap on shoulder for an exemplary job or efforts done is a form of generous appreciation. It's could easily be caught and practice if it's already a culture within the family circle.
Toddlers learn everything and the things they learn at this age is what sticks around until they grow up. It is essential to be able to hone them rightly in the beginning. I believe generosity entails compassion to kids too. The best way to teach kids generosity is by example. When my son is just three or four, and every chance we got to mingle with other kids, I always try to befriend other kids too. I only have one child and there is not much interaction with other kids his age before he went to preschool. Meaning he doesn't have to share with other kid. It is different with sharing to adults, because he's used to his parents and everybody else, but not with kids his age. So he tends to get jealous and mad at every kid that comes close to his mommy. Sharing or not. So when we go to preschool or our local church school every Saturday, I won't stress him that we need to mingle or let alone share what we have to other kids. What I'd do is let him roam around first and let him be at ease with the surroundings. When I see a kid that is doing something or eating, I would try to ask to have some of his/her food or borrow some crayons or something. And when the kid does, he'll see that it's okay to share and give. So when a kid lends something, I'd say thank you and give him also a treat tucked somewhere in my bag. When he sees that it's okay to share or give, he'll get the idea to give back too. I don't know, this just works for me and my son and I am proud to say he's compassionate to share whatever he thinks others might need.
I agree with this. Parents should start their kids at a very early age. Generosity, honesty, kindness. However, parents must ensure they also do what they teach the children. The older children grow, the more they will do what their parents do and not what their parents say. It is quite the oxymoron for a dishonest parent to try teach a child honesty.
I would have to agree that children should be taught how to share as early as possible. It's nice to impart generosity at such a young age and it's well received.
