Toddlers and Sharing

I have a problem and I am not at all sure how to address it. You see I am part of a wonderful, wonderful mothers group filled with gorgeous kids and lovely ladies that have become good friends.

The issue is that during our recent catch ups Isaac has started grabbing toys. The other kids don't do this so I am the only one wrestling with their toddler. I know it's developmental and I know you can't really expect near 2 year olds to share but it's exhausting and makes me feel like a lacking parent. Particularly because the other children seem to share so beautifully.

It's also hard to know what to do - snatch the toy back and give it to the original claimant? Surely that's the same as hitting a child when they hit another - you are just using the behaviour you are trying to stop. But then can you reason with a 21 month old? "Isaac please give back that toy?" Falls on deaf little ears.

The other issue is what path do you take? Should you be encouraging sharing of the toy when another snatches it? Is that fair to say no snatching on one hand and then when another child snatches their toy to admonish them to share? And in a mothers group situation should you establish some rules and boundaries with the other parents so that everyone is on the same page? How do you address that tactfully? I guess you could blog about it!

At Isaac's day care they had the following on the wall.....

Toddler Rules of Ownership

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.
11. If it's broken, but you are having fun playing with the pieces, it's mine again.
12. If there is ANY doubt, it's mine.

Isaac seems to have memorised the list and taken it to heart!

Crafty Kids - Fathers Day

One of the lovely things about having kids around is creating gifts and cards with them.

When they aren't quite able to grasp the concept of art and craft just yet, that can be a little challenging. Isaac and I have made two fathers day cards this year (one for Opa and one for his Daddy) With a little imagination, the scribblings of a 20 month old can easily be turned into "works of art".

Different coloured card placed on top of each other adds a nice 3-D touch and makes the drawing look special. I used a pair of scalloped scissors to get the edging.

For his daddy's card, Isaac drew with crayon on a sheet of A4 paper and I folded an oragmi shirt from the results. I followed this tutorial on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uApUvt-xWJw I added a little tie, cut out from his previous drawing, and I think it looks quite sweet -

Before Isaac was really into colouring, we made Christmas cards out of tracings around his hands. A lovely little reminder of just how small he used to be!

Hand and footprints always make cute cards and wrapping paper and can be achieved by the littlest of tykes (although getting them to sit still can be a challenge!)

For handprints, you can buy "paint stampers" which are an easier way of getting your little one to make their own hand prints without having to brush on paint. I got the below at ArtShed.

I found that Art Shed at West End -http://www.artshedbrisbane.com.au/- is a wealth of kids art and craft ideas and materials. Right nearby is reverse garbage - http://www.reversegarbage.com.au/ - which also has great (and cheap) items to make stuff with (and has the advantage of being green as grass!)