Teach your kids how to learn from losing - It's one of the best things you could do for them.

My blood boils when I see kids, especially adolescent kids, who expect everything to go their way, and when they don't it's like someone has committed a heinous crime against them. My neck hairs just stood on end writing that sentence!

Today while I was skimming through some news and social media feeds, I saw an article where some people, and companies, are urging parents to stay clear of party games when not everyone wins!!! They call them "no tears" games. Sure there is a place for games where everybody gets a reward, but isn't the fun of playing without reward enough?

Gosh!! Playing only "no tears" games is not going to teach any child anything, except that they are ALWAYS entitled to come away with something. So, instead of teaching kids to not expect a prize at the end of every game, or event, and to accept that you can't always win, they're being taught that every time you play a game, or compete at an event, you're entitled to get some sort of reward! What utter rubbish is this!! It teaches kids that unless you're guaranteed to win something, don't do it. It will create person who doesn't know how to handle failure later on in life, and doesn't try something if they know they may not succeed at it or be rewarded for trying. Taking away the game takes away the lesson.

There is not many a greater teacher in life than failure. Failure is where you realize what your weaknesses, and gives you something o strive to improve, so that one day, when you're good enough, you will succeed. And that will make getting the prize so much more satisfying. Learning to be gracious in defeat is a lesson everybody needs to learn. There is no worse thing to see a child do than have a big cry for not winning the chocolate, when there is a table full of sweets right next to them. It is something that needs to be taught to young kids, and the game of winning and losing is a crucial part of that learning curve.

I can just imagine what kind of adults there will be in the future if they didn't learn to deal with not winning at everything they do at an early age. That is another reason I love coaching competitive sport; you won't win every game, and so every game you lose becomes a learning experience to try to improve the next time, and win the games against the opposition you lost to last time, or at least be more competitive. It's a physical, mental and emotional challenge to be a winner, and to accept that you're not going to win every game you play, even if you are a more skilled team.

Not everyone gets a prize.. that's just life... learn to deal with it. And teach you kids to do the same. Always expect to win, and always learn from losing.

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