The Pains of Sharing

 Ever since this day, the Bubs has been working hard on his sharing. A few weeks ago, I clicked these pics of the Bubs attempting to play with his friend's dump truck. The problem was that his buddy was still playing with the truck. I had to again reintroduce the concept of sharing to the Bubs.

It continues to challenge he and I. When the Bubs is requested to share a toy, he first waits. He grows quiet and focuses on the toy. He lowers his head and, well... he waits. It's an elusive strategy for me and I get lost in where he is emotionally. It makes it harder for me to make my next move. Sometimes I just wait too. We both end up staring at the toy. Other times, it is just he who stares at the toy while I stare at him... waiting for something to go on. Nothing. It's a form of "street smarts" and is very effective -  just say nothing. It's genius sometimes. However, it always leads to somebody being unhappy. Sharing is a painful practice when not fully understood.

Many of us are taught in elementary school to share with our fellow human beings. This is before we start earning money and paying bills. After the latter occurs, sharing becomes an opportunity cost. Maybe schools should begin teaching economics in kindergarten rather than senior year of high school. This may better prepare them for the world. Then sharing could be taught as a tax incentive.

Perhaps sharing a toy dump truck is a useful economic lesson for two-year olds? It's value is priceless when it can also be played with inside the sandbox.