Sharing seems like such a simple idea, but it is far from easy to explain to a toddler!  We've been quite lucky up until now, Ethan has easily shared his toys and I've always been able to take other toys away from him if other children became upset that he had them.  He rarely took toys that others were playing with and almost seemed to have no concept of possession.  That is, until today...we were out for lunch with lots of friends and at first him and a friend were happily sharing toys back and forth across the table.  And there came a point when Ethan had both the car and the train, and the other little boy wanted one to play with.  Ethan would not let go of either.  It was so difficult because I didn't want to pry one from his hands to give to the other boy, because then Ethan would be the one crying, but how to make both boys happy when neither really seems to understand the concept of sharing?  

I do remember reading somewhere that children can not really grasp the concept until they're around 3 years old, but surely there's some way of getting them to that point more smoothly?  It is all a part of their Personal, Social and Emotional Development to learn how to play nicely with others and how to share toys.  But I would really like it if Ethan could be one of the children who could understand this early and feel secure to pass along toys in the knowledge that he will get to play with them again.  After this incident at the table the boys did play really nicely together, when each had his own car.  So maybe the key is to always be prepared and have 2 of everything?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)