Sharing...
Really excited to be back to work today… To celebrate, I’ve opened a chocolate bar, safe in the knowledge that I can have it all to myself. As I’m sat really really enjoying my chocolate, I’m feeling ever so slightly hypocritical for using the phrase ‘sharing is caring’ a few too many times this holiday!! So here’s some pondering about why sharing is sometimes really hard, and, how easy it is to judge when others don’t.
Pretty much every parent of siblings that I’ve spoken to over the holidays, has been fielding battles between their children over sharing; new Christmas toys, food, parents attention… The ability to share, to put someone else’s needs above our own is linked with ‘kindness’, and being a good person, and when our children aren’t there yet, it can damage their friendships, and trigger guilt that as parents we haven’t done ‘enough’. And yet, for some incredibly kind children I know, sharing is really really hard.
Due to past experiences, my little one struggles to trust that others will look after his things. For others, who have been deprived of toys or food in the past, it’s difficult to accept that new and good things will stay theirs if they part with them for even a short while. For me, who has had an intensive 2 weeks of Mummy-mode, I simply have a need to keep something for myself!
Sometimes being caring is sharing, but sometimes being caring is knowing when other people need to keep what is precious to them to themselves.