Tips for Teaching Your Child to Be a Good Sport

If your child is or is going to be playing on a sports team or entering some type of contest, they must be able to take a loss. In other words they must be good sports. Here are a few tips to make sure your child is a good sport and not a sore loser.

First...make sure you, yourself, are not a sore loser. If the child sees you getting upset and mad when you or they lose, they will automatically think that is the right thing to do.

Second...if they are playing on a team, make sure they realize that it is a team. They are not the only one out there. And if their team loses they are not the cause of the loss and neither are any of the other players.

Third...throughout the game restrain yourself and others from yelling negative feedback and getting upset at something someone does. Never let a child see you yelling at the coach or other officials at the games. Never yell at the child if he/she makes a mistake.

Fourth...tell your child that it is only a game. Win or lose, you still love them. Make sure they understand (and make sure you mean it) that as long as the do their best that is all anyone is asking of them. Always praise them for a job well done (even in a loss).

Fifth...keep telling them (and make sure you believe it yourself) that to be a true winner one must accept losing with a good attitude.

Sixth...make sure they have a coach that is instilling the value of good sportsmanship in your children. If the coach is constantly belittling them or putting them down for a loss, then the best thing is to take them off that team. You can try talking to the coach, but that does not always work. If you know enough to be a coach, then volunteer to coach a children's team. That way you can at least teach a few children between sore loser and good sport.

Seventh...if your child has and continues to have hard feelings or a hard time coping with the loss of a game, he/she may actually not be ready to play a sport. They may be old enough but not mentally ready to play. If you feel this is the case, take them out of the sport immediately.

Eighth...do something special with your child after each and every game. That means the losing games also. This way they do not associate positive things with just winning games. Take them for ice cream or to their favorite pizza place or even to the arcade or movies. Let them know that you are proud of them even if the game was lost.

In other words, for a child to be a good sport an adult must be responsible for teaching them. So parents, make sure your child knows the old cliché "It is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game." (good saying).

Source:

Trying to teach a five year old to be a good sport (not easy but do-able)