October 29th, 2009 by Rkhenry
Teaching our Lil’ Monster
How to Lose Gracefully
You just whooped your kids butt, at a mad game of Mario Kart, and now you are needing to convince them it’ll be o.k. Does that sound correct? Then how does someone go about convincing a kid they’ve just been beaten at a game, and that the game is finally over? It’s easy. If the kid is old enough to play Mario Kart, they are generally old enough to count. Try showing them the score on the television screen. That is assuming your child knows what numbers are higher from the next.
- If your child doesn’t know how to count, [and in reality way to young to be frying their brain on television waves], use the opportunity as a teaching mechanism. While playing video or PC games with your children, an adult person can use this time constructively to help teach the child their numbers and how to properly count. If there are two “Karts” located on the track, use the opportunity wisely and start asking them how many “Karts” are on the screen.
Now, if you the adult is hell bent on proving yourself as the next Mario Andriette of the Mario Kart world, I highly recommend it that you first ask yourself who is the real one acting like a child? Especially before you decide to spank the kids butt, because you’re now suffering through a temper tantrum. Simply put, “You asked for it!”
- If that’s the case- my suggestion for you would be to realize that this is the perfect time to put yourself in “time out” too deal with it. You have successfully voided out any need to convince your child you’ve beaten them.
- Why? To be quite frank about it, through your own poor behavior the only one whose been beaten- is YOU!
- The most difficult challenges, can only be answered by you. Stop next time and think about what goal needs to be achieved. Then ask yourself, “Did my own personal behavior reflect that goal, and how it must have appeared in the eyes of my child?” Then, and only then will you grow as a parent and inherit a new found sense of logic to add to any future acquired parenting skills.
There are many life lessons parents are forced to focus on, when teaching their children. There will be ample opportunities for you to do just that. My best advice would be to enjoy the time with your child and try to make sure they are enjoying their time they are spending on you. There comes a time in every body’s life that personal freedom wins out. It usually becomes a more visible intruder when a kid becomes a teenager. Adults need to keep this in mind and remember that the time they are using now, is more precious than pissing it away in the name of “honor”. Which leads me to thinking about my own childhood. I can honestly say that, I’m not sure if my own parents ever tried to convince me they had beaten me in a game. Really, why would they? Aren’t games about enjoyment and fun? There will be plenty of opportunity in a child’s lifetime to be on the losers end of reality. I’m not sure if a mean game of Candyland, is the appropriate time for such a heavy life lesson. When it came right down to it, my parents were more focused on self control, wise choices and perseverance. If I was losing, they never allowed me the be a quitter. If I was winning they never allowed me to brag or rub some one’s face in it. If I didn’t know whether to take the short cut or not, they’d let me make the decision and play the game out in it’s entirety. Then and only then would they ask me if I thought that was the right decision or not. If I’d say, “I don’t know.” They’d suggest we play again and try it the other way. Take the board game named “Life“ as an example. Within the first play, the player has to choose if they want to go to college after high school or straight to the work force. Before you can continue, a decision one way or another, has to be made. The rest of the game is about did I make the right choice or not. The board game “Clue“ is another great game for teaching kids the importance of making right decisions, but this time, the right decisions are based off of facts. In order to win, the player has to not only make the right decision, she or he then has too keep track of learned details to form a strong affirmation through problem solving. For example; in “Clue“, a winning answer sounds like; “Colonial Mustard, with a wrench in the library!” If your child can’t say, “Colonial Mustard, with a wrench in the library”, I’d highly suggest you choose a more age appropriate game too play.
Games Try!
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