Is your
toddler grabby or territorial with toys? Is there an issue of your toddler
always wanting the toy in his playmate’s hand? Do you struggle when you have a
couple of toddler’s sharing a space and there is constant fighting over toys?
What could a parent or caregiver do to keep a playroom environment calm?
For age: one year to three years ~ social skills for toddlers are
completely different from social skills of preschool children and elementary
age children. It’s a huge learning curve to help toddlers understand sharing
toys (especially if it’s their own toys). Generally, they have more interest in
what is in their playmate’s hand than a toy on the floor or a toy in the toy
box that nobody is playing with. They have a sense that they will never see
their toy again, something is going to happen to it, or simply because they are
drawn to their playmate’s toy. At times, for toddlers, the thought of sharing
can be very traumatic. The skill of socializing and sharing is a learned skill
that takes patients and lots of opportunities for toddlers to socialize with
other toddlers. Yes, coming from several years of caring for toddlers, I am a
true believer that it is possible to teach toddlers how to share by taking
turns.
My
advice with teaching social skills to toddlers:
