Ever in a situation where your child has something and another child comes along and wants to take it from them? Automatically our response sirens turn to “Share, it’s okay share….” and your child looks at you with this unimpressed look? Then the word we all dread comes out…“No”Sharing and the issues around it we will tackle in the next blog but for right now let’s get back to our situation.
Perhaps if we place ourselves in the shoes of the child, sitting at a cafe using a pen to write down some thoughts on a notepad and someone comes over to take the pen off us all of a sudden….”Hey, excuse me I was using that” (at the nicest)…the waitress says share, it’s okay?
Let’s add one crucial thing into this scenario….what if the person just asked if they could borrow the pen instead, would our reaction be different? I’ll tell you right now 99.9% chance it would be.“Excuse me can I please borrow your pen for a moment”…you look up and say “Sure!”
It’s just a matter of respect and children are exactly the same. If a child just asks to use something of theirs or has a turn…that No will most likely turn into “here you go” or sure. Try it, it actually works, your child will pleasantly surprise you.
Discover practical, easy-to-implement strategies to gently navigate your child’s emotional outbursts, while maintaining your own sense of calm.
It happened today a number of times….a child would come along try and take something and the child in defence would say no and then I would intervene and encourage the other child to ask if they can have one and the answer flipped every time.
Children innately will make the right decision, trust in them, respect them…remember all you have to do is ask.
