All the time at the playground I hear, “good sharing!” and “no no Jackson, you need to share”.

We parents think it is some critical skill that children need to learn. A skill that must be forcefully developed in order to be a contributing member of society.

Then one day I thought: We adults never share! How weird would it be to ask for someone’s phone to play a game.

- “Do you have any apps on your phone I could play with for a while”

- “Yeah, I’d love to share my phone with you. Have fun! I’ll set a timer so we know when it’s my turn again.”

- “While you wait, here are the keys to my car. It’s the Audi A5 over there.”

What good sharing!

It’s probably not harming kids to help them understand what sharing is, but I certainly don’t practice what I preach. I wonder why we care so much about sharing at the toddler stages.