Joanna Fortune: My four-year-old doesn't want to share her toys 

Her only-child status may be more ‘correlation over causation’ when it comes to her struggles. Many solo-children can turn-take and share, and many sibling-children will struggle just as you describe.

Children often need gentle coaching around developing social skills, and sharing isn’t as straightforward as is often thought, but she is still very young, and you have a school year to prepare her for primary school.

Our four-year-old daughter is spending a second year at playschool so she can develop stronger social skills. She’s an only child and finds it difficult to take turns or share her toys. We’ve spoken to her about the need to be kind and patient, but she doesn’t seem to be interested. What can we do?

It’s good for children to have their two years of pre-school (ECCE programme) to help prepare them for primary school. The most important sign of readiness is that they have developed the level of social skills, emotional expression and independence around basic tasks. Your daughter is still just four years old, so this second year of pre-school is appropriate for her developmentally.