Picture this: Your child loses his baseball game and instead of walking from first to third, giving high fives, and saying “good game” to the kids on the other team, he crosses his arms and parks it in the dugout. That’s a similar scenario to the story Susan shares in this episode of the iMOM Podcast. Her friend watched her grandson show some bad behavior after losing a jiu-jitsu match. She’s determined to work with him on growing into being a good loser.
So the podcast ladies talk about how they handle losing and how their kids deal with it. Megan admits she doesn’t go easy on her 3-year-old son. Do you think you should let little kids win? One mom blogger says letting her young son win has completely changed his attitude about losing. Her take is that when a child experiences the thrill of winning, even if you have to let him bend the rules, they release the label of “loser.” When the win or loss isn’t a reflection of the children’s identity, they handle it better. What do you think?
You need to consider a couple other things before you react when your kid’s a sore loser. First, is it more of a problem for you than for your child? How does your child being a sore loser reflect on you? Next, what is the emotion she’s showing through stomping her feet, sitting in the corner, or not shaking the other kid’s hand? Frustrated? Embarrassed? Maybe a better name than “sore loser” is emotional loser. Maybe your child is just processing emotions and this is a chance to find out what she’s feeling. Like most parenting dilemmas, when your kid’s a sore loser (sorry, an “emotional loser”), it’s an opportunity to observe, ponder, and learn from her behavior to guide her to growth.
Articles We Mentioned
How to Help Your Child Deal With Disappointment
5 Things Not to Say to Your Sports Kid
Article From a Mom Blogger Who Says You Should Let Kids Win
Printables We Think You’ll Like
How do you deal with your emotional loser?
