learning to share

Learning to Share Can be Hard for Young Children

Just because you tell your child to share or “play nice” doesn’t mean they know how to do so . . . yet. But with time and help learning what it means to take turns, to play cooperatively, and to share, you just might hear a lot less of “mine, mine, mine” or “I had it first!” Also, keep in mind that most children do not develop this skill until they are between three and four years old.

First, teach your young child what it means to share. Toddlers may not warm up to it right away but by introducing them to sharing with you, it will help when it is time to share with others. For instance, if you have an apple, you can let your child have half the apple with you. Let her help cut it then show her how you give her one slice and you take one slice until all the slices are gone, and let her know that you are sharing.

Next, explain why you are sharing and how it is important. For example, “I really like it when grandma visits and I want to share my book with her because I know she will like this story.”

Here are some simple ways to help your children become better sharers:

• Set the example: Be an avid sharer with family and friends.

• Help your child use toys like balls, blocks, puzzles, jump ropes that make sharing easier and more fun.

• Praise your child when they share on their own.

• Thank your child for sharing. Yes, it’s praising but also a way to show your respect for their actions.

• Teach your child how to use a visual or auditory cue for sharing, such as a sand timer or a song, that indicates that each child receives a turn for an allotted amount of time.

• If children are having a hard time sharing, help them come up with other solutions and ask theirs, and their peers, for other options.

• Don’t punish your child for not sharing. Just keep trying.

Is it ever okay not to share?

Sure, it is. If your child has some toys or books that are meaningful to her, let her know it is okay to put those toys away while friends are over but that she can’t play with them either until her friends leave.

Additionally, say your child is on the swing but not ready to give up her turn. She should not just jump off the swing immediately when another child is ready to swing. Instead, use this time as an example of modeling the behavior you want to see in your child. For example, say to the other child: “You are being so patient waiting for your turn on the swing. When Violet is through in a few minutes, I know you will have fun.” This allows your child to finish her turn and also places expectations for her to share.

More Information

• Zero to Three: Helping Young Children with Sharing

• Early Childhood News: Teaching Children to Share

• Sesame Street in Communities

cooking with your little ones

Don’t Be Scared to Cook with Your Kids

No matter your child’s age, you can include him in your kitchen time even if it just reading the recipe aloud and showing pictures when he is a baby. As they get older, it will get messier but also more satisfying. There are many reasons why you should start cooking with your children when they are young and teaching a life skill that everyone should be taught is only one of them. Here’s a few more...

Social-Emotional Development:

• Hands-on cooking with mom or dad instills confidence and pride in their abilities within them.

• Learning how to follow a recipe or mom’s instructions helps reinforce following directions as well as problem solving.

• Letting them take the lead on a recipe fosters independence and self-direction.

• Strengthens the bond between the child and the parent.

• Teaches cooperation and sharing.

Education:

• Math skills such as counting, fractions, measuring and sequencing are introduced.

• Talking about where different foods are grown and why helps teach geography and science.

• Cooking increases their vocabulary and understanding of the words.

• Sharing stories about how food was eaten in the past, how it has changed and about how people eat it in different parts of the world teaches history and cultural lessons.

Nutrition:

• Preparing the food encourages them to become a more adventurous eater.

• Helps them understand how to eat healthy by creating a well-balanced meal and portion control.

• By cooking with seasonal vegetables and fruits, it teaches them where their food is grown and about farming.

Fine Motor Skills Development:

• Give a child a whisk and let them go! Same with a spoon for stirring. Both helps to strengthen little hands.

• Kneading bread is a great activity for the fingers and allover hands.

• Teach them how to peel vegetables and fruits to increase range of motion and control.

More Information:

• Kids Cooking Activities

• Cooking with Preschoolers

• Healthy Children: 5 Great Reasons to Cook with Your Kids

Staying safe while growing and learning

Take Precautions to Keep Your Child Safe as She Grows

Children are explorers by nature. As soon as they become mobile, they began to investigate their environment which means that they use all of their senses to better understand everything. They find a button on the floor, it goes directly into their mouth. For some reason, it makes perfect sense to them that little fingers are the perfect size to fit into electrical outlets. All of a sudden, their once safe space is a danger zone!

Check out the tips below to help lessen the risks around your home and your child care provider’s space.

Safety Tips:

• Be sure to lock doors to any dangerous areas or exits.

• Use safety gates on stairs and discourage climbing the gates if you see that beginning to happen.

• Install window guards on windows above the first floor.

• Since falls often happen around playground equipment, be sure that there is a soft surface for them to land on.

• Tricycles, scooters and run bikes are popular at this age. Make a rule that helmets are worn from the start.

• There should be a fence around your child care’s play area. Make sure that the gates are in good working condition and can be locked.

• If you keep firearms in your house, make sure that the ammunition is locked separately from the gun.

• Keep guns unloaded and in a safe, locked place.

• Keep knives and other kitchen appliances out of reach of small hands.

• Keep your child in a safe place when ironing or cooking. Check your stove to see if the outside gets hot to the touch.

• Lock all cabinets and drawers that might be tempting to a child. House hold cleaners should be capped and stored in a secure cabinet. Keep all medicines safely out of reach.

• Check that all electrical outlets have plates on them with no loose wires sticking out. Unused outlets should have safety caps on them.

• Keep all appliances and their cords in good condition.

• Make sure that fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors work and are checked monthly.

• Be sure that there is not standing water outside in buckets or pools and never leave a child alone in the bathroom. It does not take much water for a child to drown.

• Keep floors and counters clean of loose buttons, change and other small items that can wind up in a mouth . . . or a nose!

• Cribs are up to date, haven’t been recalled and meet all safety precautions.

• Heavy furniture is bolted into the wall so it will not topple over on a little person.

More information:

• Child Care Aware of America: Indoor Child Care Environment

• Early Childhood News: How Safe is Your Classroom?

• BabyCenter: Child Safety Checklist

Bullying

Is Bullying a Concern for Parents of Children Under Five Years Old?

Much research has been conducted around bullying among older children. When it comes to the very young, there is much less research and even more confusion as how to tell if it bullying or development of social skills.

It’s important to realize the true definition of bullying as well as that it can occur in a physical manner, as well as verbally and socially. As explained in an NAEYC article, bullying has three elements:

• · It is an act that is aggressive and is intended to do harm.

• · It is a series of acts that are repeated over time.

• · The acts occur within the context of power imbalance.

When looking at younger children, research has shown that there is a big gender difference. Boys who bully have many friends while girls who do so are more socially isolated. Also, in contrast to older children who bully, children ages 2 – 5 may be a bully one day and then the bully-victim or victim later in the year.

Research has shown that aggression in areas such as the block table, the water table, and the playground are more common and in areas overall that are more open and less clearly defined.

The good news? As children grow older and develop better social skills and emotion and behavior regulation skills, bullying tends to decline.

Early Education and Child Care Providers and Parents Can Help:

• Discuss and model positive behavior by offering the words and actions children need to make friends and interact with their peers.

• Reinforce and celebrate good behavior by praising a child when he/she is “caught” in the act of being kind, sharing or helping a friend.

• Set clear rules for behavior and step up quickly to stop or redirect aggressive behavior before it happens.

• Provide constant reminders to young children about how you expect them to behave.

• Tell stories and talk often about what kindness is, and how it is valued while reinforcing that aggression is not acceptable.

• Encourage children to help repair hurt feelings or damage that is done. For instance, sincere apologies or helping to rebuild a knocked over block structure helps to correct the hurt.

• When children use unkind words, help them understand how they can hurt other people. Work with them to suggest other ways and words to show their feelings and suggest appropriate actions and the use of non-aggressive words.

• Teach children to alert a teacher when aggressive behavior happens.

More information:

• NAEYC: Bullying in Early Childhood

• Education Development Center: Prevent Bullying