Teaching good sportsmanship

Author

Paul Banas

Submitted: 01.02.08

Don’t be the soccer dad who’s locked up for getting too involved in kids sports activities. Instead, follow a few basic guidelines to teaching good sports behavior:

1. Praise the effort, not the outcome. Make sure everyone feels good that they played hard at the game and had a good time.
2. Don’t let your child quit. If your child is old enough to make a commitment to a sports class or other activity (5+), make sure he realizes that he’s going to stick with it until the end.
3. Let your child quit – on the other hand, if you chose the activity for your child thinking that he would learn to love it, let him bow out if he’s not enjoying it. Not every child is meant to love swimming or skating or basketball, even if you think they “should.” If the child chose the activity, but ends up not liking it, let him quit after he’s finished the agreed on program.
4. Watch your own personal investment in winning – if you find yourself criticizing your child for his skills, you may be getting too close. Kids football is not the major leagues and no kid will benefit from hard-core criticism of his play time.
5. Emphasize the fun – while many people love to win, if you focus to much on the competition you may take the enthusiasm out of the activity and end up with a child who shies away from all competitive sports. As many people enjoy tennis, golf, and basketball for the camaraderie and exercise as do those who have to win to make it fun.
6. Play along – find activities, like golf, that are good at any age. If you can play with your kids, you’ll have a lifetime of good sportsmanship ahead of you.

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