• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Preschool Toolbox Blog

Educational Learning and Play for Children 2-7

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shop Lesson Plans
    • My Downloads
  • About
    • PR/Social Media
  •  
  • Literacy
  • Math
  • PreK
  • Science
  • Fall Theme Activities
  • Preschool Themes

Sep 12, 2011
Parenting and Values

Should I let my young child always WIN at games?

Thanks for sharing!

  • Share
  • Tweet

I think every parent has wondered – “When playing games, is it OK to always let my child win?”

When our children are old enough to begin participating in games with other adults, is it OK to allow them to win?  The best answer is…SOMETIMES.  My husband always wants to see our son’s “DELIGHTED” face and mood when he wins at card games or board games.  Yesterday, our son was given a checkers set by his grandparents.   He was so excited to jump his Dad’s kings; his face would light up and he laughed such big laughs that it was a really FUN family time together.  My husband let the winning go on for quite awhile, then gave me the look that said, “Should I keep letting him win?”

While I love watching our son be happy, we would be doing him a great disservice to allow him to always WIN at games.  Life will not always be so gentle with him and it is our job as parents to build honesty, fairness, and character from this little guy that we love with all of our heart.  It is difficult to know that he may be angry when he loses and allow him to FEEL it anyhow.  Allowing our children the opportunity to deal with those emotions in a safe environment where he can discuss what makes him angry is ideal.  Some parents would rather “ward the emotion off at the pass” when they expect a tantrum or anger to be the result.  In doing so, we rob our children the experiences necessary to build self-control. Role-playing is a good way to “reach and teach” our children when we know that they are going to be upset by something.   Last night, I told our son that I was glad winning made him so happy.  I also asked, between games, what he feels like when Daddy or one of his friends win?  He didn’t answer right away because he knew that it didn’t FEEL as good not to win.  My husband won the last game of checkers.  Our son claimed that his Dad had not played “fair,” but eventually was able to muster a “thank you” for playing.

Practice role-playing and allowing your child to lose at games sometimes.  No one likes to be the “loser” all the time, but it is necessary to allow our children to “practice” those feelings at home first.  Help give appropriate feedback and allow children to express disappointment or other emotions and feelings.

If your children are not challenged by the games/activities you have at home, look for games or activities that provide opportunities to help your child develop new reasoning skills.  Cards and board games allow many opportunities for teaching our children how to win, but also to be gracious losers!

 

3 Comments

Join our newsletter & receive the FREE DOWNLOAD:
Explorations with ALL 5 SENSES!

Enjoy in the classroom or at home!



Previous Post: « Transportation Theme Activities for Preschool!
Next Post: The Creaky Old House – a not so scary October Adventure! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    August 23, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    I agree with this – I don’t think they should get to win all the time. Learning to be a good sport whether you win or lose is important. That said, I got my daughter Candy Land so we could practice how to act when you don’t win the game. As luck would have it, she wins almost every game on her own. At least I get the chance to model how to be a “good loser”. lol!

    Reply
    • pschooltoolbox says

      August 31, 2014 at 2:17 pm

      Emma – sorry I missed your comment! Learning how to lose “gracefully” is a skill some adults have yet to master!:) It is a learning process, but the younger it starts, the easier it is! Thanks so much for visiting!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tips for Helping Preschoolers BE a Good Friend! #TeachECE • The Preschool Toolbox BlogThe Preschool Toolbox Blog says:
    August 12, 2015 at 3:00 am

    […] Positive Family Relationships:  Family is the first practice young children have at  positive interactions with others.  How children play with others in their family is an indicator of how they will play with friends.  Siblings sometimes play differently than friends do, but some of the early communication patterns will remain the same.  Observe children playing for clues on aspects of communication that may need improvement.  Encourage family communication to resolve problems, encourage fairness and taking turns, promote positive attitudes, and to plan play time for the whole family so children can practice manners, try new things, and refine developing skills for good sportsmanship. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

SEARCH for an ACTIVITY or SEASONAL THEME HERE!

Subscribe

Theme Activites, Parenting, Education

Copyright © 2023 · The Preschool Toolbox · Become an Affiliate · Web Hosting & Design by Servously

The Preschool Toolbox Blog uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience, analyze site traffic, and to personalize content. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. Click READ MORE for details: Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT