The “Our” Concept

The shared ownership concept must still be too complex for our toddlers based on the number of conflicts we mediate daily. They don’t fight over everything. Some objects are accepted as belonging to someone else. Color coding has helped us segregate common items such as bottles, shoes and some toys. Both boys accept that green is for Davey and blue is for Benji. Other objects, like blankets, are either Davey’s or Benji’s and they acknowledge and accept this fact without dispute. However, for many favorite items like trains, cars and books, physical and verbal conflicts are common. Even when we have two identical examples of a desired object, the boys scuffle over the same one. It’s as if the only item they want is the one thing their brother has. If only brothers could learn to share, then we could all live in a more peaceful world.