Are you here because your child doesn’t like losing ?

I just read an article yesterday where a women has sued her father for cheating in a game of Ludo. Unbelievable.

She felt so betrayed that she had to take counselling for the same. Don’t believe me? Just read the article

MP: Father cheats in Ludo game, daughter approaches court

Children often get pissed off when they lose a game and someone else wins. It is natural for a child to feel bad about losing a game or competition. In fact we as adults too feel bad when we lose a game. But what is not good in this scenario is if they do not accept losing. Some children find it very hard to lose. They may scream, cry or even tear the game up when see they lose the game. Some quit the game in between when they see themselves losing the game. These are all signs of a sore loser.

But what should a parent do if the child is a sore loser? We have to make them accept losing. We don’t want them to sue us later 😉

Here are some ways to help a child to not be a sore loser

Don’t Scold them

Scolding will not help at all. Just tell them what good effort they made in the game and how they can improve their game next time. It is just a game, someone has to lose and someone will win. They can try to win next time.

Ignore Temper Tantrums

If after losing a game your child begins to cry uncontrollably or throws himself to the ground, ignore it. Avoid talking or consoling at this stage. When he /she will notice that no attention is being given he/she will stop these tantrums. You can explain them later what he/she was doing was not good.

Validate their feelings

You can console them saying that you understand that he/she is not feeling good after losing a game. But games are sometimes about luck too. They can try next time. When they lose, they get an opportunity to learn.

Allow them to lose

Avoid losing on purpose. It can be tempting sometimes to throw the game on purpose to see them smiling or avoid their crying. You can’t just let kids win because you don’t want to see them crying. They need to learn to work hard if they want to win and if they don’t win, they got to learn to lose well. Life doesn’t let you win always.

Be a Role Model

Show them when you lose the game you congratulate the winner and its okay to lose.

Talk to Them

Tell them to win they need to improve their skills and this will come with time. Explain games are also about chances. Some things are out of our hand. If you lose a game, there is nothing to be embarrassed about.

We as parents need to teach them that accepting losing is a sign of good sportsmanship.

Also Read

Why should you play board games with toddlers and preschoolers?