As a child, were you taught that it’s always nice to share? It’s safe to say that most of us were. But is that lesson something that really holds true when we turn into adults? Some would argue that it does not.
A woman was recently at the playground with her son Carson when she witnessed something that prompted a Facebook post that would later go viral.
Her name is Alanya Kolberg, and she was with her son at a local playground; Carson had brought along a few toys to show his friend that he was meeting there. The transformer, Minecraft figure, and truck were going to be a hit.
As soon as Carson stepped foot on the playground, he was surrounded by six kids asking to play with his toys. Her little boy didn’t want to share; he just wanted to play with his friend.
“You can tell them no, Carson,” I said. “Just say no. You don’t have to say anything else.”
This advice to her son caused all the other kids to run and “tattle” on him for not sharing. This began to seriously frustrate Alanya. She didn’t understand why it was an obligation for her son to share toys with kids he didn’t know.
Alanya also began to try and compare the situation in adult life. If this same sort of situation were to happen between adults, it wouldn’t apply whatsoever.
“If I, an adult, walked into the park eating a sandwich, am I required to share my sandwich with strangers in the park? No!”
Alanya argues that parents are supposed to be raising their children to be well-mannered, functioning adults. Teaching them to share all of the time just isn’t realistic when it comes to how the world really operates.
She goes on to say that it is up to parents to, instead, teach them how to say “no” to people or to set boundaries for themselves. This is often a hard task for many adults to accomplish and that is her goal as Carson’s mom.
Her Facebook post below has gone viral — prompting the opinion, sometimes outrage, of many parents. Reading the comments, there’s certainly a divide of who’s right and wrong. What are your thoughts?
