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Yes, sharing is important and you can bet I will be instilling it in my kids.
However, I don’t believe that everything has to be shared. I have things that are very precious to me that I don’t let anyone else have or use or wear and the same goes for certain books I own that I won’t lend out to others. Call me selfish but these are mine and mean a lot to me.
My little guy has a teddy and “special blanket” that he has had from birth and sleeps with it every night and tucks him into bed before he goes to school in the morning. Little sister won’t be allowed anywhere near it and that’s absolutely fine by me and the same goes for her, she will be given a blanket and toy when she’s born that is just for her, her comfort and not for him either.
I feel like not forcing him to give up some of the more meaningful toys or at least having to share them will help him to have a bit more respect for sharing and make the transition from being an only child easier (famous last words).
The same goes for quality time. The kids will spend a lot of time together (obviously) but they will also get time each themselves, my little guy likes running so he will do that by himself, she will be at home during the day while he is at school so will get her own time. Although I know it is easier said than done I really want to try giving them each their own time because kids are their own people and I want a relationship with them individually as well as, as a family, in the same way my husband and I do.
The reason I am writing a post about this now rather than after the fact is that it’s sort of an experiment, I feel quite strongly about it and here is my reasoning but I am also interested to see if my stance changes once she has arrived or if I will still have the same mindset on sharing.
But for now, everyone will have their own stuff, and that’s okay.