Supporting Parents, Strengthening Families
Sometimes children love to share. A child passes out a cupcake to each friend at a party; offers his baby sister the toy he knows she’ll love; or asks grandma to buy something for her siblings in addition to her own gift when they are at the toy store together.
But sometimes…children are not so generous or loving. All children have trouble sharing at times. A child might hoard all of the “best” sandbox toys for herself, or run to snag the best seat in the car before his siblings get there.
When children are afraid, they can be inflexible, stubborn, aggressive, or timid. You might remember being in a similar state, yourself…
Messages about how to parent your son are everywhere: “Don’t coddle him.” “Push him out into the world.” “He’s being a crybaby.” “You better let him go.” Feeling a cultural pressure to disconnect with their sons, many mothers feel conflicted about how to stay close, or push boys to independence too early. Psychologists Cate Dooley […]
