Ava loves games. LOVES them. Which is great - because I love that she's at a stage where we can play interactively and learn things like rules and turn-taking while having fun.
But....
as most three-year-olds surely must be, she's a terrible loser. Like, if she loses, she cries and throws a fit that completely negates any fun we had playing. My husband mysteriously loses more often than not to her, which doesn't help my case, but I don't believe in letting her win because it teaches a completely false life lesson and doesn't do anything to help her become a gracious loser OR a gracious winner.
So, my question to you all is this: How do you handle your children throwing fits when playing games? We were making some headway by teaching her about asking for a rematch when she loses, so she focuses more on playing the game and less on the outcome, but this post was brought to you by this morning's massive meltdown when I won at Candy Land, so clearly our problems are not entirely solved. Any advice?
I can definitely relate! We learned how to play Chutes and Ladders and Candyland this summer. It's fun being able to play games with them, but Jack wants to win and doesn't like it when he doesn't. During one particular game of Candyland, he got mad that I was getting so many double colors and he wasn't getting any. I may have rigged it so he would get a few after that but I think I still won that game! I just tell him that you can't always win and maybe he'll win the next time. Either way, it's fun just to play the game. I have rigged it so he would win but I also want him to experience losing, which he has. If he gets upset then I let him be upset while trying to tell him we can always play again later. He gets more mad then tantrum-y, if that makes sense! It's definitely hard knowing what to do at this age!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one and that it seems to be a normal part of their age and development, but man - drives me insane! I have been known to rig it, also, from time to time.
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