Nothing sours a game faster than hearing our child whine and cry after losing.

"I give up!"

"That's not fair!"

"I don't want to play anymore!!"

And now we're regretting even playing the game with our kids. It's tempting to say back:

"Don't be a sore loser!"

"You can't win all of the time!"

"Stop that crying."

"If you're going to keep being upset, we're not playing this game anymore!"

But if we step back and think about it - participating in games and sports demands a lot out of our kids.

They have to balance:

✔Remembering the rules & following directions.

✔Regulating their emotions

✔Practicing impulse control (Wait their turn, sit quietly)

✔See things from others' perspective

✔Understand fairness

✔Recognize mistakes + think of ways to improve

✔Celebrating the success of others

It's a lot for our kids to navigate so in this week's episode, I'm going to share 6 tips on how to teach your kids how to lose gracefully and practice good sportsmanship.

Don’t forget to check out my free discipline workshop, “How to Get Your Child to Listen Without Yelling” - www.themompsychologist.com/workshop