Experts say children learn to share at an early age when they are around other children, particularly siblings. My children apparently never got this memo. They
have both become hoarders in their own ways.
Teaching sharing to tiny little
thieves seems like an impossible, yet hilarious, task.
It’s your typical afternoon. Juls and Liv are playing quietly on the blanket, surrounded by toys. Juliana begins to whine a little so I go to give her a pacifier. I search all around her and can’t seem to locate it. I soon realize that it’s
in Olivia’s mouth and Olivia has her ninja death grip on her own. I go to reach for Juliana’s out of Olivia’s mouth and Liv immediately grabs onto it with her free hand. She apparently needs two of them.
I see the word “MINE” in her near future.
It doesn’t end there. Olivia will even pull the pacifier out of Juliana’s mouth and hold on to it. After all, she may need it later on.
Olivia may be the “binky” thief, but Juliana
is quite the toy hoarder. Same scenario, the girls are playing quietly on the floor, surrounded by toys. While Olivia is concentrating on picking up her pacifier off the mat and putting it correctly into her mouth, Juliana is slowly rounding up all the toys
onto her lap while keeping an eye on her sister.
Take that binky thief!
Juliana has gone
as far as removing a toy near Olivia and placing it as far away as possible. No, Juls didn’t want to play with it at that moment, it’s just so her sister can’t.
Olivia will continue the sibling rivalry for a toy. Even if she is done playing with something and moves onto something else, as soon as
Juliana goes to grab it she all of a sudden wants it again.
There it is again, “MINE!” This just may become her first word.
We have recorded these shenanigans on several occasions. It’s hilarious. However, I still have tried to begin teaching them “no” and “let your sister play with it first.” Obviously this goes on
deaf ear at the moment. I get the inquisitive look of “huh” and then they proceed to put whatever they have in their hands into their mouths and continue their thieving ways.
These so called “experts” with their “sharing knowledge” obviously never had fraternal twins, or twins, or children
close in age.