The reason you shouldn't always force your child to share

As a parent, you've probably found yourself in a situation where your child wanted something that someone else was playing with.

So should you always force your child to share with others?

Well, we think this: sharing is a good thing. It teaches children how to be kind and considerate of others. However, sometimes there are situations when it may not be appropriate to share. For example, if you were playing with your child on the beach and another child came along who was also playing with sandcastles - that would be an inappropriate time for your child to share their castle.

Should you always force your child to share? Not! In fact, we think it's important for kids to learn that sometimes they have to stand on their own two feet and take care of their own needs first!

It's a pretty common scenario: you're in the park with your kids and they want to play with something. But they're not sure if they should ask you first, so they do anyway.

Or maybe a friend comes over and wants to play with a toy that belongs to your child.

Or it's one of your kids' friends who just moved into the neighborhood and doesn't have any toys yet. And then there are all those times when we're grocery shopping or picking out clothes from the dry cleaners and our kids want something that isn't theirs—like a magazine or a pen, or even just an empty candy wrapper from the checkout counter.

What should we do in such cases? Should we always insist that our children share? Or is it sometimes okay - especially when they're with people they know well - if they decide they don't want to give up their toy?

You don't have to teach your child to share, but you should teach him how to do it properly.

We all know that getting a child to share their toys can be really difficult, but the right approach can do wonders. I remember my own children being quite stubborn at a younger age and refusing to let anyone else play with their toys. But once they understood that sharing is great fun, they never looked back!

One of the best ways to make sharing toys fun is to get the kids involved in creating a common space for everyone to play - it's much easier for them to see what you're doing than if someone just tells them what to do.

Here are some tips for teaching children to share:

- Before starting any activity, ask them which toys are theirs and which belong to other people at home or at school; it will help keep things organized later!

- Encourage them to try new things by asking them questions like, "What do you think will happen when we try this?" or "What would happen if we did this instead?". This helps children learn through experimentation without feeling like they are being forced into something new (which can cause resistance).

If a child only takes toys from others, he will grow up believing that it is okay. But if you teach them from a young age that sharing is important, then they will grow up believing that it is normal to share things with others - and it will help them make more friends.

We think the key to success is to teach children about sharing at an early age so they understand what it means before they start kindergarten or school.

It is also important that as parents we teach our children to say no when another child approaches them with an offer to share or play with them. It's not just about saying no because you don't want to share your toys; it's also about saying no when someone is mean or aggressive towards you or your things.