Learning to Share at an Indoor Trampoline Park

There is a saying, “sharing is caring.” This is largely true, as sharing with others is a valuable lesson that can help you throughout your life. Sharing with others is a form of selflessness that everyone must learn in their lives in order to build lasting relationships. Typically, you want to teach your children at a young age the importance of sharing and giving to others. Humankind is naturally selfish, which means that this lesson can be difficult to teach children. Especially, when you find out that the first words your child learns, aside from “mama” and dada”, is the word “mine.”
As a species, we are naturally selfish, but in this blog, we will teach you five easy ways to teach your child to share with others.

Trampoline Parks Teaching Children

It sounds odd that an indoor trampoline park would be the perfect setting to teach your child to share, but it is true! At Rebounderz of Apopka, you can easily teach your child valuable skills that will follow them throughout their life.

Tip 1: Start Teaching Them Young

You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. When people are used to behaving a certain way, it can be difficult to break certain habits. For children, learning new things is second nature, which means that lessons can be interpreted quickly and stored into memory, faster. If you want to have a selfless child, you should start teaching them lessons of sharing very early on.

One of the best ways to teach your child the lesson of sharing is by bouncing on a trampoline with them. You should do this by taking turns bouncing on the trampoline and by audibly saying, “my turn, your turn.” This will indicate to your child that one person goes after the other in order to enjoy the trampoline. Taking turns is the very first step to learning how to share. By showing your child how to pause from something to let someone else enjoy it, they will learn how to share their time and enjoyment.

Tip 2: Be a Role Model

Your child will learn directly from you. Young children idolize their parents and learn from them. If you are not an avid sharer, you should learn to do so for the sake of your child. You should be vigilant to audibly and visibly show your child that you share with others, just as you expect them to. Most children won’t do something unless they see their parent display that same behavior at least twice. Of course, if you are a naturally selfish person, even displaying moments of sharing won’t change your child’s behavior completely.
It is important to be a role model for your child, always showing how they should act. Verbal cues, audible praises, and rewards are all great motivators to improve your child’s behavior and teach them valuable lessons.

Tip 3: Give Reasons to Share

Most of the time children won’t share because they are afraid of losing their privileges, such as food, candy, and play time. If you have multiple children, teaching your children the lesson of sharing can be difficult. For instance, older children will often prey on the smaller children by eating their food, stealing their toys, and teasing them. Because of these extra challenges, as a parent, it is your job to ensure that all of your children understand the meaning of sharing. Younger children may have a harder time trusting and sharing, while older children might have more difficulty learning to take turns and resist the urge to snatch items from their sibling’s hands.
To teach your children to behave and learn new things, you should give them reasons to share. Motivators are great to encourage a certain behavior, especially in children. You can always state that if your children are good, you will take them to a fun and exciting location, such as your local trampoline park. However, if your children choose to be naughty, you can use Rebounderz as a way to train them.

Tip 4: Using Alarms

A great way to teach your child to share is by using timers and alarms to indicate when their turn is done. You should clearly show them that you are setting an alarm for a certain amount of time. You should also state that when the timer is over, they must give up their turn. You may get a few tears, but as a parent, you must remain strong. If you allow for a few more minutes, or don’t fully stick to your alarm system, your child won’t take it seriously. So, once the alarm is done, you should tell your child to give their turn to someone else. If you receive any pushback from your child, you will need to put them on a time out to demonstrate why their response was unacceptable. If you don’t make it clear that your timing system is serious, and involves benefits and consequences, neither you or your child will adhere to it, making it impossible to teach your child to share.

Tip 5: Use Praise as a Motivator

As stated, verbal and physical praise are great motivators for your child. Your children respond well to praise, especially because they want to please you. When you reward them with positive responses, they are more likely to continue that specific behavior. If they successfully take turns with another child, you need to make it abundantly clear that their behavior was correct.
Rewards can take many forms. For one, you can use verbal rewards, such as telling your child how good they were. There are also physical rewards, such as hugs and kisses. You can also reward your child with special treats, such as candy, juice, and even play days.
Your local trampoline park is a great reward for your child, especially if they have been extra good lately. They can jump and play knowing that they were allowed to because they were sharing with others. Motivators are the best way to encourage good behavior in children.

Rebounderz of Apopka

Visit your local indoor trampoline park today and see how our trampolines can provide opportunities to teach your child to share. Visit our park today and bounce the day away!