- 1). Select a sport that your children like to watch and make time to regularly to watch it with them. Ask them what their favorite team is and have fun together learning about that team and watching them play. Make the event a family affair, with popcorn or some treats to enjoy during the game. Focus on the experience of sitting down together and watching a game, rather than on the outcome of the game.
- 2). Celebrate with your children in a reaffirming way when your favorite team loses. Frame the loss in a positive way, such as suggesting that it was a good game, they gave it their all or that they will have better luck next time. Use this to shape your children's view of losing as a positive learning experience and to demonstrate that enjoying the experience of playing the game is more valuable and rewarding than winning the game.
- 3). Talk to your children about sportsmanship. Instruct them to always congratulate the other team after a loss, explaining that it is a courtesy they should share if they want to expect the same when they win.
- 4). Reinforce that losing can be a positive experience when your children lose a game, by suggesting alternate ways to view their loss. Make sure that you believe what you say to avoid coming across as disingenuous to your children. Compliment the good things you saw in the game, such as making a big catch or getting a good hit. Ask them what they learned during the game and cheer for those successes.
- 5). Provide your own rewards to your children for their sports activities such as taking them out for a treat after the game regardless of the final score. Teach them to celebrate the opportunity to compete, have fun and learn. Reinforce these ideas by using your after game treat as a chance to talk to your children and discuss the game with them. Share your own stories, from your youth and the games you won as well as the ones you lost. Discuss your enjoyment for the sport and share that enjoyment with your children.
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