Can I have it?

My wife and I are trying to encourage our children to get away from the idea of ownership of things that are only going to be temporary anyway. If they see something they like the first thing that comes out of their darling little mouths is 'Can I have it?'.

Our logic is that if they don't feel they need to own something then they will be happier to share it, leading to more people getting the use of something that may otherwise be left sitting unused in the back of a wardrobe or out and being fought over.

It's fascinating watching them deal with the emotions of this as they are still feeling their way in the world (aren't we all?) and it is often easier to slip back into selfish ways. There's a word (selfish) that has taken on more emotion than I think it was meant to have.

Selfish - I have tried to remove the bad feelings associated with that word and it takes on a much less offensive meaning. I then try and apply that logic to other words and it makes language much more interesting - it's also a good exercise in developing your (or should that be one's)vocabulary.