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?Strrrike!?
When Ami Mansfield* won the final frame in the family bowling match, her glory was short-lived. Her eight-year-old son Hayden began crying on the spot. In hindsight, Mansfield isn?t surprised: Losing has always been tough for Hayden to handle.
?During card or board games, he?ll throw the game pieces across the room,? says the mom of two. Hayden will also throw tantrums when he isn?t doing well in video games. Losing?even the threat of losing?is such a sore point that Mansfield has put off enrolling her son in team sports for fear of how Hayden will react in front of his peers.
Hayden certainly isn?t alone in his inability to handle defeat. Andrea Nair, a psychotherapist and parenting educator in London, Ont., says that while some kids take winning and losing in stride, others need more support to manage their emotions in the moment. It?s not that being competitive is a bad thing. What you don?t want is for your child to throw a tantrum or sulk when she loses, forfeit a game at the first sign of defeat or even cheat to ensure a win. Nair shares some strategies to help kids handle the big feelings that come when they?re not the first at the finish line.
1. Practise losing

Family board games are one of your kid?s first chances at learning how to lose. Play games like Snakes and Ladders, but don?t let kids win, have a do-over or get away with not sliding down a snake. Chat about how it feels to win and how it feels to lose. Siblings make ideal...