The Mediocre Dad

A blog about being a pretty average dad… and stuff (formerly Henry's Blog)

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Fatherhood²: How do I Turn my Son into a Loser?

Posted on February 9, 2014January 7, 2018 by Henry Elliss

9289339033_feef289589_oAs parents, we’ve always strived to bring our children up as good people. We teach them to be polite and courteous (you have to see Freddie’s “oooh, amazing!” Christmas present reaction – it’s foolproof!), we teach them how to be nice to others – we teach them all the stuff we believe you need to be a good person.

Despite our best efforts, one particular lesson has so far evaded us – how to be a good sportsman. Or more specifically, how not to be horribly arrogant winners and horrendously poor losers.

Obviously, Robert is the main culprit here – though Freddie is learning well from his older brother.

It’s a problem that I’ve known about for a while, but it struck me just how bad it is today during a family game of Mario Kart on the Wii console.

Whilst Sara and I were playing the game, Robert and Freddie were sat on the sofa cheering along – alternating their allegiances between us depending on who was winning at the time. But once Sara started to clearly win, Robert (as usual) started to gloat on his mother’s behalf. So a conversation along the following lines took place:

Robert: “Mummy is gonna win! She’s WAY better than you!”
Me: “Robert, it’s not nice to mock somebody when they aren’t good at something”
Sara: “How would you feel if you had a race at school and you lost, and another boy laughed at you?”
Robert: “I ALWAYS win the races at school!”

As you can see, Robert isn’t a gracious sportsman – and he’s even worse when he actually DOES lose. Whilst we’ve always sought not to give the kids an unrealistic view of competition, inevitably you sometimes let them win. After all, who can honestly say they can play Connect 4 or Snakes and Ladders with a 2/3/4 year old and NOT let them win the odd game? But we try to let him lose just as many as he wins, as I’m sure most of us do.

So we’re now facing the task of figuring out how exactly you turn a child into a gracious sportsman, before he starts to show this amazing arrogance in competition with other children – children who are likely to take his gloating a lot less graciously than we do.

I’m assuming it’s just going to be a matter of continual reminders on top of some ‘live’ demonstrations – but if anybody knows of a more effective way of making teaching this lesson WITHOUT the inevitable tantrums our method will cause, I’m all ears…

After all, I don’t want him to turn in to this:

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • competitive
  • games
  • graciously
  • losing
  • Parenting
  • playing
  • sportsmanship
  • winning
  • Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    henweb

    henweb

    Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

    View Full Profile →

    Instagram Gallery

    Finally, 12 years later, my firstborn child is ear Finally, 12 years later, my firstborn child is earning his keep. Long may it continue.
    Obligatory snowy walk photos. Lovely stuff! Obligatory snowy walk photos. Lovely stuff!
    Tried out a couple of new countryside walks this w Tried out a couple of new countryside walks this weekend, thanks to a new app we found. Both within 2 miles of our house and both very muddy indeed!
    Now you see it... and now you don’t! After over Now you see it... and now you don’t!
After over a decade of dereliction, the old abandoned caravan that sits next to our rear driveway has GONE! We’ve only been here for less than 10% of its reign, but even a few months was enough and I made enquiries about having it removed. Today, just 4 months after I started my attempts, it was taken away. And I am beyond pleased. All I need to do now is tidy the ground up and the whole driveway will be usable again.
    Boxing Day walk. Eldest son not in shot due to bei Boxing Day walk. Eldest son not in shot due to being too cool to walk with us.
    Went for a lovely sunny, winter walk through the n Went for a lovely sunny, winter walk through the nearby @wasing1759 estate. Nice day for it.
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    A small ad for some stuff




    Subscribe by RSS

    RSS Feed RSS - Posts

    Recent posts

    • Family Camping for Beginners – Camping in the Time of Covid July 14, 2020
    • Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers July 5, 2020
    • Tips for Throwing a Memorable Goodbye Party June 26, 2020
    • 4 Signs That You Need to Make More Money May 20, 2020
    • Male Pattern Baldness is a Dad’s Worst Nightmare April 21, 2020

    A bigger ad for some stuff

    Recent Comments

    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Camping Tech & Gadgets
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Preparation
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Fatherhood: Even more camping tips for families
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Next Level Camping Gadgets
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | The Mediocre Dad on Fatherhood²: 7 Lessons I’ve Learnt After Our First Summer of Camping
    © 2021 The Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme