Questions, But No Answers

I've been thinking about the concept of sharing recently because I can see Luke entering an anti-sharing phase. Ok, let me rephrase. I can see Luke entering an anti-sharing phase with Other Baby. He's fine with everyone else, in fact, he hands over toys as a way to woo other kids into playing with him. But with Other Baby? Forget about it. Part of it, I think, is that he and Other Baby have a very sibling-esque relationship, so they go from "Oh, it's my bestest buddy EVER," to "Ugh, whose idea was it to bring this kid into my life?" within an 8-second time frame. Add to that the fact that he has figured out EXACTLY how to push Other Baby's buttons (Step 1: Dangle toy in front of his face. Step 2: Snatch it away as he reaches for it. Step 3: Watch him fall apart.) and what we have is a recipe for sharing-related disaster.

Obviously, I put an end to the ridiculous button-pushing and make sure that Other Baby has lots of things to play with because he spends a lot of time here and really can't be expected to sit and twiddle his thumbs the entire time. But what about with others? Strangers? People we meet at the playground or the pool who want to play with Luke's sand shovel or ball or floaty toy?

I've heard that the consensus seems to be that if your kid brings a toy to a public place, they should be prepared to share it. Let's take this to its logical conclusions, shall we? I take my cell phone out in public ALL THE TIME. I don't hand it over to strangers on the street corner though. I don't leave my keys in my car so that other people can take it for a joyride around the block. I don't share my debit card with the other people in line at the grocery store. So...um...why teach our kids that once they take something they own out in public, the public somehow has shared ownership of this thing?

(And along slightly different lines, why am I spending so much time talking to him about what sounds animals make? Is it really integral that my one-year-old knows that cows moo? Wouldn't it be much more useful to teach him how to fill out his taxes instead?)