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Tips for helping 3-year-olds learn to share:
• Point out the value of sharing and how your child enjoys playing with a friend’s toys.
• Reassure your child that his or her toys are still his or hers, even though another
child plays with them.
• Allow your child to put away special toys that she or he does not wish to share.
• At playtime, try to have toys that have multiple parts or games that provide the
most fun when played with a friend.
Learning Self-Control:
Best friends can change daily for 3-year-olds. Your child might be rejected by another
child for no reason other than that the other child is in a bad mood. Other times,
rejection can stem from a child’s own actions and how they affect other children.
It is crucial to the process of making—and keeping—friends that your child learn
about self-control and cooperative play.
Tips for helping 3-year-olds learn self-control:
• Work with your child to make the connection between negative actions and
a negative response. Point out that if he or she pushes another child that child
won’t want to play with him or her.
• Help your child learn to verbalize feelings, including learning to apologize for
bad actions. Children are quick to forgive and your child will likely be invited
to play once again.
