Quote Originally Posted by torontokids View Post
This was really helpful, thank you. I have been wondering about the share timer as I want them to have ample time to play with the desired toy but this has seemed to help them with sharing somewhat. It at least stopped a lot of the bickering over toys.

I have used the idea of separation without a timeout with older kids but never tried it with a 2 year old. I will have to see how that works.
I'm not a fan of the share timer. In my opinion if a child is playing with a toy they should be free to play with it as long as they wish, as long as they are playing with it and not just holding it to prevent another child from using it. It just sucks to have a set time to use something. I think even young children start to realize there is no point in getting involved with their play if the timer will ring and end your play before you are done.

I just tell the child that so-and-so is using it, when she is done with it you can have a turn (I then turn to so-and-so and say when you are finished can you tell your friend so she can have her turn). It not only means the kids can enjoy their play but it also means you are not becoming toy share timer police in having to set and reset the timer all day.

I also agree with not using time outs for everything. Especially with a 2yr old. Tell them if they are not playing nice they need to play elsewhere and send them off. When they try and return say "oh, it looks like you are ready to play nicely". The message learned is that they need to play in a socially acceptable manner to be part of the group.