sharing toys...any tips?

[MrTumblesCrackWhore]

Ds1's two toddler cousins are coming to stay for three days this afternoon. Ds is 2.5 yrs and his cousins are both girls 3.5 and 18 months.

I'm dreading the visit as ds is going through a particularly intense phase of not wanting to share, crying and occasionally hitting when he is asked to share. Dh won't be around much to supervise and I have another dd (baby) to tend to so I'm worried about how to handle the situation without giving myself a nervous breakdown. My ILs are lovely but they are only used to their own very quiet and well behaved girls.

He does generally get on very well with his older cousin but has only played with her in her own house or at their grandparents' house and issues have been kept to a minimum.

I've asked my SIL to bring a bag of toys for her dds so at least we may be able to do swapping.

Any other tips?

One option is thar the cousins are not allowed in his bedroom. Any toys your DS considers especially precious should stay in the bedroom; any toys which are brought out eg intothe living room, explain that his cousins may want a 'turn' on. Involve DS in deciding what is precious and what he is willing to share- he might be more generous than you expect.
Failing that, go out a lot to neutral territory like the park. And instigate shared fun activities like all three of them painting the outside of the house with water, pavement chalking (3 sticks), bubble blowing (3 pots)- stuff they can do in parallel.

Thanks helium. Unfortunately all his toys are out in the living area and no space to put them in his room. I asked him before to tell me what he wanted to put away and what he wanted to share and was met with 'me not share, me not nice today'. I think the park it is then :o

Can you get hold of a kitchen timer? Then use it to time how long each child can use toys for? It might help a bit if your DS can see that his toys have not gone forever...