How I Taught My Only Child to Share

The single child household use to be a rarity, but now it is the fastest growing family size in the world. This trend will usher a change on society. The size of the extended family will be smaller without the usual aunts, uncles, and cousins.

There are also concerns regarding an only child and how having no siblings will have a negative effect on the only child's personality. An only child is stereotyped as anti-social, loner, bossy and overly controlling. The foregoing is due to, according to pseudopsychiatrist con sociologist a.k.a prophet of social doom, the fact that only children grow up without social skills or ability to interact with their peers. There is this widespread belief that only children are deprived of social interaction and as a result, they are selfish, spoiled and manipulative.

No brothers or sister also mean that there is no one to share with, an only child will have all the toys and attention, which bring us to another question: how do you teach an only child to share?

As a mother of an eleven year old only child, a daughter, here are the things that I did:

1. Create opportunities for social interaction where you encourage your only child to share toys and things with other children;

2. Make an extra effort to teach your child about sharing and having empathy for others. Also, always be on the look out for opportunities you can explain why sharing is nice and how nice it is to share one's toys with other children;

3. Remember to praise your child for demonstrating generous and other positive behaviour;

4. Read children's books to your child, about friendship and sharing and how generosity is always good;

5. If your child is to receive child care, place your only child in a day care rather than hire a nanny. In day care your only child will have the opportuinty to interact with other children and make friends and learn the value of sharing in the process.

6. Be an example of the fact that, indeed, 'it is better to give than to receive."

I sincerely believe that I have succeeded in teaching my only child, Mary Elizabeth, how to share. At age eleven, she is generous to a fault. :)