Accepting defeat: the value of sportsmanship
How glad to win but what bitter is the defeat. However, losing is part of life and you should not see these occasions as a failure, but as a moment in which to reinvent yourself, learn from mistakes and do better. But many children do not understand these situations and always look for excuses to justify themselves or get angry because they have lost.
You have to teach to accept the defeat. Know that you can not always win and that far from getting angry with the person who has overcome us, we must congratulate him and learn from him to know how to do better next time. In short, teach sportsmanship to children to use this value in their day to day throughout their lives.
Opportunity to grow
We have to teach children not to see defeat as something bad. Of all you can always get something good and even those times when you stay behind someone in a competition. What can teach those situations? To recompose, to learn and to know how to continue growing so that the next time the victory is obtained. At the same time, they learn to accept themselves as they are, with their limitations.
And, above all, to not value people for the results but for the effort put into achieving them.
Do not let the trust and children's self-esteem are undermined by defeat. You should bet on a positive speech that teaches the little ones that there will be a new opportunity in which they will be able to give their best. In addition, the little ones will also learn to respect these situations, knowing how to congratulate the winner is always better than looking for their faults or other factors that explain why they have been lost.
Find excuses to justify defeat alone will contribute to the child to create a reality where it is not he who should improve but should be the environment that surrounds him should be fairer. Something that will greatly hinder the possibility that this child will improve sometimes as for example the failure of an exam where the fault will be a teacher and not him who did not study enough.
How to accept defeat
Accepting defeat may be easier than it seems. Before any competition children should understand it following:
1. It's not the end of the world. Losing is not as serious as a priori seems. Children should know that nothing happens to be defeated, in a sport or in a game, there is always another opportunity to demonstrate more values.
2. Accept criticism. It is possible that after the defeat some criticisms are heard. Far from being angry with the people who throw them, children must learn to fit these criticisms and take them as an opportunity to grow.
3. Reflect. Always after the defeat, and also after the victories, we must reconsider what was done wrong and how it can be improved.
4. The important thing is to have fun. Sometimes obsession with victory makes competitors forget why they are there. Fun must be the goal, not any trophy.
5. Take away the bad thoughts. The defeat must not sink the child. Even though there is a lot to improve it is not a failure to lose in a competition.
6. Rejoice for others. Our defeat is the victory of our neighbor and we must encourage children to develop the empathy necessary to rejoice for the good of others even when it does not suppose their own good.
Damián Montero
