03/02/2022
••• Wisdom of sharing •••
Api is going through a phase where she is exploring the concepts of, “I, me, and mine”. When her friends come over, I often find her grabbing a toy and saying, “mine!”
One day my wise sisters said something that shifted my perspective, a new thought — Sometimes it is okay not to share.
For example, imagine you are sitting at a park bench about to eat a sandwich and someone comes to you and asks you to share. You may not want to and that is okay. Teaching how to share is also about teaching how to have healthy boundaries for yourself.
My friends also gave me a tool: before your child has friends over, ask if they want to put away any special toys that they don’t want to share and only keep out the toys they are willing to share. This way they get to choose what to share and they also get to maintain their boundaries.
I also decided to use the word “taking turns” more often rather than the word sharing. Taking turns” communicates that both people get to have the “thing”, they just have to wait for their turns. The word “sharing” (with toddler) is sometimes used to suggest that they have to hand over what they have to the other person.
It was a great reminder that if I don’t feel good about sharing my time, belongings, resources and energy, that I don’t have to and that is okay. It reminded me that my likeability and worth does not come from my ability to give and that it is just as important to create healthy boundaries for myself. As I accepted Api’s authenticity, I also accepted my own, and there was no need to compromise it just to fit in or be “nice”.
I was so humbled by this piece of knowledge and grateful for a conscious community. Now when Api doesn’t want to share her toy, instead of trying to convince her that “sharing is caring,” I choose to say, “I’m sorry, this is Api’s favorite toy and she doesn’t want to share right now. Would you like to play with this toy instead?” or "You can play with it when Api is done, do you want to play with this one while we wait?".
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