"That's mine! Gimme gimme!" Sound familiar? There's a common perception that toddlers are inherently selfish. And although toddlers are masters at using the words 'I' and 'gimme,' a recent study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that toddlers actually enjoy sharing. The study, co-designed by Dr. Lara Aknin, observed sharing behavior in toddlers.
To assess the emotional response of giving, researchers gave toddlers treats and asked them to share with a monkey puppet. They then assessed the toddler's happiness with sharing by evaluating their facial expression. Interestingly, researchers found that the toddlers expressed the most happiness when sharing, rather than receiving, their treats.
Our OnCloudMom blogger Caitlin interviewed Dr. Aknin to discuss her findings and their implications on sharing behavior for toddlers. Listen to the podcast below to hear Dr. Aknin's insights on why toddlers want to share, what parents can do to encourage sharing, and more. Also, if you want to listen on-the-go, feel free to download the podcast here.
Thanks Dr. Aknin for sitting down with us and explaining your monumental study. We're looking forward to learning more about toddler sharing habits in your future research!
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