Our culture says, "Let the best man win." The pressure to compete is strong for our children. Teachers post grades. Sports teams either win or lose. Clubs track performance.
In today's world, it's a challenge to show my 8-year-old that doing his best doesn't mean being the best.
We use examples to help him understand this concept and focus on the person, not the performance; the effort, not the score; the idea, not its popularity.
In having the proper perspective, competition becomes appropriately challenging and fun for a child.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2010 issue of Thriving Family
magazine. Copyright © 2010 by Bridget Nelan. Used by permission. ThrivingFamily.com.