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Key Takeaways:
- Sharing is an important social skill for kids because it improves their peer relationships, makes them more academically successful, and helps them learn to compromise.
- You can teach children to share through activities like book swaps, charity crafts, treasure hunts, and collaborative art.
- Parents can reinforce sharing by modeling the behavior, improving their child’s sharing vocabulary, and praising them when they share.
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Sharing is an essential life skill children must develop to become better friends and peers. Introducing sharing activities for kids improves their communication skills and helps them understand compromise.
These activities also help children build empathy, become reliable friends, and learn to cooperate. But sharing isn’t always easy. Your child may be impatient or struggle to let go of their favorite things.
Fortunately, sharing is a learned behavior. Here are 12 sharing activities that can help improve their ability to share and put themselves in another person’s shoes.
Why Sharing is an Important Social Skill for Kids
Sharing is the cornerstone of building healthy relationships, developing empathy, and learning other essential life skills. When children learn to share, they can better understand others’ perspectives and navigate complex social situations with grace.
Sharing also teaches kids about compromise and fairness. They aren’t always going to get what they want, and it may not feel fair—they’ll have to come to terms with challenging situations like these and learn how best to move forward.
At What Age Do Kids Learn to Share?
Children typically begin developing the concept of sharing at age 2, when they also start using words like “mine.” [*]. By this age, they might understand that sharing is the right thing to do, but they won’t necessarily want to share. Why? During this time, children are still developing cognitive empathy and can find it hard to understand why they need to share [*].
By school age, children are more likely to share and take turns without issue. They will also start learning to be patient, but may challenge situations that they don’t feel are fair.
Sharing Activities for Kids
Children learn how to share through watching what their parents do, but you can also engage them further with fun sharing activities. Here are a few you can try.
1. Donating toys, books, and clothes
Donating unused toys, books, and clothes teaches children the value of generosity. It promotes selfless giving by asking a child to “take a walk in someone else’s shoes” and understand the reasons why other children might need certain things more than they do.
Seeing the positive impact of their actions on others teaches kids a deeper sense of empathy and moral responsibility.
2. Snack sharing
Sharing snacks provides children with concrete practice. It’s a tangible representation of giving and taking, and makes the more abstract concept of sharing easier to understand.
Parents can use this activity to introduce the concept of compromise. Children will learn that they may not always get the entire snack, but that they can still enjoy a portion of what they have.
3. Book swaps
Book swaps are a fun way to facilitate new connections between kids. Through book swaps, they can talk about shared interests and gain a newfound appreciation for different ideas and backgrounds.
This activity introduces the idea of reciprocity, wherein giving one item means your child will receive an equally beloved item in return.
4. Charity crafts
Charity crafts provide a fun, more involved, and hands-on outlet for giving. For example, your child might craft cards for hospital patients, which can help them connect and empathize with others from all walks of life. Kids learn best through doing, and engaging in crafts taps into their natural creativity.
5. Birthday gifts
Children love gifts—they feel listened to and cared for. By giving gifts, children gain a deeper understanding of the positive emotions associated with being thoughtful. Gift-giving also helps children deepen their friendships and encourages positive social skills.
6. Collaborative art
Collaborative art encourages children to work with others to achieve a common goal. Instead of being competitive, children must be cooperative. They’ll learn to communicate their ideas, adjust to one another’s thoughts, and build a sense of belonging with others beyond the final product.
7. Treasure hunt
Treasure hunts with friends are all about teamwork, cooperation, and shared decision-making. Deciphering tricky clues and compromising demands that children learn to communicate and listen to each other’s suggestions. Treasure hunts might also involve smaller tasks that require children to take turns and assign roles.
8. Pass the parcel
Pass the Parcel is a fun and simple children’s game that requires participants to unwrap a gift layer by layer. The child who unwraps the last layer gets to keep the surprise inside. The game teaches patience and the ability to celebrate in someone else’s wins.
9. Community gardening
Starting a community gardening project encourages positive neighborhood interactions and gets children to bond over shared responsibilities. Tasks like dividing labor and swapping tools sets a good stage for sharing. As their garden grows, children can appreciate not only their efforts but the efforts of others.
10. Group storytelling
Reading and storytelling are excellent ways to get your child’s imagination running. In a group setting, they can teach children how to build off each other’s ideas and engage in mutual curiosity.
Children must wait for their turn to add to the story and listen actively to others’ contributions. Stepping into each character’s shoes can also help them develop their sense of empathy.
11. Group projects
Your child is probably familiar with the phrase “two heads are better than one,” which is the case in group projects. Regardless of the project itself, this communal activity provides an excellent avenue for understanding shared responsibilities, group success, and a reciprocal form of sharing.
12. Volunteering
Volunteering puts children in a unique position to develop empathy and compassion. They can witness the needs of their community firsthand and brainstorm ideas for sharing ideas and resources. They’ll understand that sharing isn’t always material, but can be about exerting time and effort for the greater good of their community.
Tips for Parents
A parent is every child’s first role model, and there’s a lot you can do to encourage sharing within your household. Here are some tips.
Model sharing
Children will look to their parents to get a grasp of expected social behaviors. Modeling sharing is one of the best and easiest ways to reinforce it in your child. Share your items under different circumstances, such as your umbrella when it's raining, or a book with a friend who is interested in reading it.
When sharing your items, explain why you’re doing it. For example, you might tell your child you’re sharing your umbrella so they don’t get wet and that you’re sharing your book so your friend can also enjoy.
Praise sharing behavior
Praise sharing behavior every time you observe it. Provide specific praise, such as “I’m so proud of you for sharing your snack with your friend. They must’ve been really happy to enjoy it with you.”
Remember to explain the “why” behind sharing helps others and even themselves. Sharing toys, for instance, can make them better friends.
Teach sharing vocabulary
Improving your child’s sharing vocabulary involves praising them for sharing behaviors, creating real-world scenarios, and illustrating concepts like taking turns. A hands-on way to exercise their sharing vocabulary is to initiate social scenarios in which children have to share, including playdates or visits to the park with their friends.
Introduce terms like “being fair” and “taking turns.” Acknowledge that sharing isn’t always easy, but that learning patience can make them better peers.
The Bottom Line
The phrase “sharing is caring” holds a lot of truth. A child who learns to share can be a better friend and become more successful in their academic endeavors. Modeling sharing habits, introducing fun sharing activities, and improving your child’s vocabulary can help them learn the value of sharing.
Sharing is just one important aspect of developing your child’s character. Use our social skills worksheets to help them become more loyal, reliable, and thoughtful friends.
Sources:
- Brownell CA, Iesue SS, Nichols SR, Svetlova M. “Mine or Yours? Development of Sharing in Toddlers in Relation to Ownership Understanding.” Child Development, 2012.
- Decety J, Meidenbauer KL, Cowell JM. “The development of cognitive empathy and concern in preschool children: A behavioral neuroscience investigation.” Developmental Science, 2017.
