How To Talk To Your Child About Competition?

Competition when it is healthy brings many benefits. On the contrary, toxic competition only hurts us. Find out how you can help your child become a good competitor while promoting healthy values.

Teaching your child to love competition while sharing the values ​​of sharing and empathy can seem difficult. This is why today we invite you to broach the subject in order to give you some ideas on how to talk about competition to your child. So read this article to find out more!

Competition is an integral part of our society. This is why it is often encouraged within the family. But what happens when a child no longer enjoys their extra-curricular activities due to excessive competition? Find out all this and more now.

Talking about competition with your child

Before getting to the heart of the matter, let’s try to define what competition is. Basically, you could say that competition involves wanting to achieve something that goes beyond what you didn’t think you could do. As you can see, competition doesn’t necessarily mean winning or overtaking others. It’s really about personal improvement.

Healthy and toxic competition

The good competitor knows how to win, but above all he knows how to lose. He is aware that losing is part of the process of learning and improving. Despite this, he conceives the idea of ​​succeeding in the future.

On the contrary, a toxic competitor only cares about being above others. Competition for him is linked only to superiority. He feels that “losing” brings him nothing but frustration and a lot of unpleasant emotions.

Now what do you want for your child? Definitely the first option. The good competitor appreciates not only the results, but also the process, the path. Indeed, this is due to the fact that the result is not an end in care.

When the child is only focused on the result, when the only thing that matters to him is beating others, a toxic relationship to competition is established. The latter is a brake on learning, pleasure and surpassing. For this reason, it is very important to answer the following question. How to talk to your child about the competition?

Ideas to encourage healthy competition

The first step in making your child a good competitor is to talk to them about it. Your little one should understand that what matters most is not the end result, but the personal effort to reach their goal. For this, it is extremely important that you lead by example. This is because if you are a healthy competitor, your children are more likely to be as well.

Sit down with your child and have a chat. Explain that everyone wins and loses at different times. Tell her about an experience you had and open the door to all kinds of feelings. Your child should know that it’s okay to feel frustrated when you lose. However, these feelings should not mar his pleasure.

Here are some ideas for promoting healthy and fair competition that will help your little one become a healthy competitor in the long run.

1. Personal goals

In order for your child to become a good competitor, it is important that they pursue a goal. The problem is, we often focus on the wrong target.

The emphasis should be on ‘I want to do my best’ rather than ‘I want to win’. This slight change in perspective frees the child from guilt when he does not win. Let’s take an example. Imagine
your child is running. Rather than beating all the other kids during the competition, his goal might be to run faster than he usually does.

2. The importance of effort

In all areas of life, the most important thing is to give your best. Personal effort is worth much more than just winning. This is what you need to point out to your child.

If he has given the best of his ability, he will surely have improved and there is nothing more valuable than this overtaking! In fact, this is the real triumph. To be a little better every day. And this, even if there is someone who demonstrates better performance.

3. To learn we have the right to be wrong

You probably remember your parents telling you that our mistakes help us learn. And that’s true! Your kids also have to make mistakes in order to move forward. Just like us. Whoever does not fail does not improve.

4. Focus on yourself

In order for your child to enjoy his activities, it is necessary to take his eyes off the “reward”. Winning shouldn’t be the only price. Rather, the real motivation should be fun and learning. Seek your child to live and fully savor each experience. Only then will he benefit from it and experience the competition in a healthy way.

5. Show your child that you are proud of them

Children need the full support of their parents. It is important for them to know that you are by their side, that you love them regardless of their results, and that you are proud of them for their effort and tenacity.

So don’t become those parents screaming at the edge of the pitch for their child to score a goal. Also, avoid situations where your little one might feel pressured. Remember that for your child to be a good competitor, you have to be too!