Levi and Sharing

Levi is like any almost two year old, only child.  Sharing isn't his favourite thing.  Surprise!  My child isn't perfect, as much as I like to try to convince you that he is :)  When other kids come and take his toys, or the the toy he's playing with, or the toy that he WAS playing with but had previously moved on from, he gets upset.  If I put myself into his shoes, I can relate.  As adults, how much do we actually have to share the things that mean the most to us?  Toys are the only things that kids have that are THEIRS, or at least that they feel some sense of ownership over.  And then we make them hand them over to other kids their age.  Wouldn't you feel threatened or resistant if you had to hand over your loofa or your journal or your kitchen (ladies?) to someone who might mess it up or not give it back?  Think about it.  Handing over the things that are most "yours" can't be easy. That said, sharing is an important life lesson to learn and I'm certainly in agreement that kids need to learn to share. :) 

Yesterday we were watching a football game with some friends.  These friends have kids.  Kids who are Levi's age.  And there were lots of toys to go around.  That said, there were a few favourite toys that everyone wanted.  Levi happens to love tractors with trailers (especially ones that make noise), ride-on cars (especially ones that make noise) and toy guitars (especially ones that make noise).  Every other kid there seemed to like these things especially much as well. At one point in the afternoon, I watched in amusement as Levi noticed that a little girl, who is about a year older than himself, was playing with the coveted toy guitar.  His eyes locked on the guitar and he considered for a moment what he would do.  He glanced up at the girl, then back at the guitar in her hands.  Finally he walked over and took the guitar from the girl. (not my proudest mommy-moment but kids need to sort things out on their own so I sat back and continued to observe)  Then Levi started backing away slowly with the guitar in his hands, keeping eye contact with the girl (I think I may have seen a little uncertainty in his eyes).  He was obviously thinking, "I know I shouldn't be doing this but she's not doing anything about it so...am I actually getting away with this?"  Then he quickly threw out a "thank-you!" and booked it with the guitar.  I was almost peeing myself laughing!  Am I happy that my boy took a toy away from another kid?  No, definitely not.  But am I proud and very amused  that he thought to say thank you?  Absolutely!  What a kid.  "Thank you for letting me steal this toy from you." That is definitely our son...