Parenting With Psychology

How to Respond When Another Kid Takes Your Toddler's Toy

August 12, 2026·11 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Another child takes your toddler's toy, and you freeze or you feel your blood pressure spike at the other parent standing right there, not stepping in. This video walks through exactly what to say and do, whether or not the other parent gets involved.Toddlers as young as 20 months already actively assert ownership, and by 30 months they're standing their ground against a peer's attempts to take what's theirs, which is part of why these moments feel so constant and so charged (Ross, 2013).In this podcast: → The 3 A's Method: Acknowledge, Anchor, Alternative → What to say when it's clearly your child's toy or turn → Exactly what to do when the other parent doesn't step in → Why freezing teaches the opposite of what you want your child to learn → The one line that speaks up for your child without starting a parent-to-parent conflict

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