Kids don't share at that age! It is very difficult to teach them until they are much older.

It is up to the carers to ensure he is not bitten or scratched and to encourage sharing, or at least get something equally good to the other kids.

Perhaps ask you could change your day so that he is not in the same time as the 'biter'.

The little boys would probably still bite anyway.

I'm proud of you for not over reacting when the day carer told you what happened. I wasn't there when she said it but I'm assuming she was only telling you what happened, not coming across as if it were Austins fault that it happened. If you haven't already I would sit with her and discuss how they handled the situation after the kid bit Austin and whether the parent of the biting kid was addressed. Making accusations that the child carer is blaming your son or hasn't acted appropriately isn't going to help anyone. And seeing as you are quite fine about the issue I trust that you feel a similiar way. We rely on non verbal techniques accounting for approx 90% of communication so for that reason alone I'm not going to jump to conclusions on what she was trying to relay to you. It takes a very understanding person to see that our child also has a problem putting aside the fact that biting isn't acceptable at any stage so GOOD ON YOU! (I'm not looking forward to the over-reacting mothers or the one's who think their child's poop don't stink when I get in to child care directing).

I haven't tried this method yet but I'm planning to teach my son how to share by giving some of his old clothes and toys to the Salvos. I'll let him choose which one's he wants to give up and them reward him for sharing with others.

 

We have a policy here where if our girls won't share, the person who doesn't want to share (for group activities like playing with blocks/cars) misses out and is removed from the situation.  You could try the same with Austin.

If there are fights over toys, then the toys get taken off all parties, which is what Austin's daycare should be doing.

It is rough hun.  He's at a very 'selfish' age, but it is normal.  Oh, and girls are just as bad as boys! lol.

excuse me? her JOB is to make sure your child is safe! i agree with the others the biter neds to be addressed not poor austin! the kid that bites is probably going to bite him to get his own way even if things change so i hope the daycarer is doing something about it grrrr

ok onto the sharing! i wouldnt be overly worried about austin not sharing hes VERY young infact hes still a toddler and they are widely known to not share and i think boys are worse than girls lol there are things that can be done to encourage him to start sharing and help prepare him for later on when hes older but honestly  if he starts to share now it will only be on his terms and whether he sees a benifit in sharing for himself.

most children dont fully start to understand sharing untill they are around 4 and even then alot of mums have a hassle! ahhhh tobias is so like austin i cant wait for it lol chloe loved to share when she was little and now she has a brother she hides everything!

heres some links for ideas

www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/Files/sharing.pdf

www.babycenter.com/404_how-can-i-teach-my-toddler-to-share_6823.bc

parentingmethods.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_teach_sharing_to_toddlers

 

 I feel the daycare lady should be addressing the issue with the boy who bites, more than the issue of  Austin not sharing.

Is Austin into building blocks, if  so sit down with him, scatter them  into a pile and you start taking blocks away from the pile to build something, if he puts on a little patty keep at it, he will eventually learn to share.

That is not good enough in my opinion. That's like saying a woman should always submit to having sex with her partner to avoid getting bashed! Wrong wrong wrong!!!

Sure, Austin could share a bit more, but at that age kids usually don't and it's perfectly normal behaviour for a child of Austin's age. I'd be demanding the daycare workers stop the other child from biting. Keep them seperated if need be. The child that is doing the biting is the one most in the wrong in this scenario.

If Austin's not sharing a toy with another child and that child is getting upset by it, the other child should be distracted from the toy they want and given something else to do. After all, that child only wants the toy in the first place because another child has it. If it was just sitting on the floor untouched they wouldn't be as interested. That's basic toddler psychology, and it takes time for them to develop past this stage.

As for teaching Austin to share, playing sharing games (such rolling a ball between you) will teach him that playing together with one toy is more fun than playing alone. It takes time and some creativity to find little toddler games that will teach them that concept, but the idea will sink in eventually.