Natural Sharing

At what age is it appropriate to teach children how to share? I think it happens naturally when they first encounter a situation where it applies or is an issue. But there's some small things that I feel like parents may overlook. It's in those little moments that even I learn something about sharing and giving.

Zane sat on my lap with his little plate of scrambled eggs next to mine. I helped him wi his first couple of bites then ate my breakfast. He saw my plate was empty and tried to feed me a bite. I did what most parents do, I acted like I ate it but didn't. He refused to eat his food. So I ended up eating the mushed up scrambled egg out of his slobbery little fingers and the smile on his face melted my heart. He said "good!" much like when we feed him and he is doing a good job. Zane then. Proceeded to finish his eggs, happy that he had shared when mommy had no food. I was proud of my boy for being so caring but I also had another thought: how often do our kids do this and we tell them "no" because, quite frankly, M&M's with half the coating melted off are gross? How often do we stifle their nurturing or caring spirit, only to create an artificial environment on which to teach them to share?

Indoor Snowman Sensory Activity

Z has had a fascination with the snowmen around town, but the snow is at that stage where it's more mud than snow and so it's not very fun for anyone. I wanted to bring the snow indoors, but we didn't have any flour so I had to resort to using crisp rice cereal. Turns out, he loved it!

I made a paper snowman, showing him the circles. We then practiced putting the "snow" on the "circles" on the "snowman", which helped him get better at saying those words. This was great for getting him to learn to slow down and listen to simple commands, something that many rambunctious little ones sometimes struggle with. He also loved the crunchy sound and feel of the cereal and I wasn't too worried if some of this craft ended up in his mouth. I look forward to trying other shapes and textures soon!