Share!

"Share!" A simple, single word command that her sister (or occasionally her parent) give up the goods. Usually repeated over and over until the demand is met. It started with Lucy, I believe, but over the past few weeks we've started hearing it all the time from both of them. At first, it was funny because of the imperative command form they had adopted for an act that is usually accompanied by certain niceties - or at least is usually framed as a request instead of a command.

Sage is looking for Lucy to share.

Brian thinks that demanding "Share!" is a clever strategy for the girls to get what they want as who can argue with the idea that the toy/book/water bottle should be shared? Outside of their lovies, everything in their world is shared: the womb, mom's milk, Daddy's lap, their crib for months after coming home, toys and books, often their food. Clever girls to figure out that demanding her sister or their friends share is almost a no-lose position to take.

Mid-sharing transaction

I'm struck by the fact that to get what they want, they command "Share!" instead of the typical two-year old assertion of ownership by declaring "Mine!" I'm not sure if the M word is even included in their 200 to 300 word vocabularies. As twins, sharing is the very essence of their relationship with the material world. It's not that they don't want to control things - they are two year olds, after all - it's that Lucy and Sage don't seem to assume that those things will be her very own. We'll see if this world view sticks.