Instinctive sportsmanship

"Remember, Tina, winning a game isn't the most important thing. It's playing fair and having fun that matter. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Good. Now let's play Chutes and Ladders."

Okay, so I've constantly been giving my 'winning isn't everything' spiel to the kids prior to starting our board games. Tina, being the oldest, is noticeably doing her best at being a good sport, but it's obvious to me in her expressions that the gesture of being a good loser isn't coming easy. Still, it makes me proud that she does try. (Chutes and Ladders is a game of chance (and frustration), so it's pretty difficult for me to up the ante in her favor; and lately, she's lost more games than won. Oh those darn chutes!)

So off we went today to Toys R Us to search for some parlor entertainment that stressed more cooperative achievement than individual conquering. A non-competitive game. Unfortunately, practically all of the board games I came across had the common objective of "being the first to finish" or some equivalent. Now I'm not saying that the goal of winning is a bad thing; it's just that I wanted something with a different intent than our games at home, for the sake of balance. Anyway, it took some further aisle searching, but I eventually found something sort of collaborative--it's called Rush Hour-- where the kids could work together for the solution. We also bought "Don't Break The Ice," which I got more for nostalgia as it was one of my favorite toys in nursery school.

[Cut to home scene: our livingroom.]

Well, I kept my fingers crossed and what do you know. It worked! The little sweeties were having fun playing both games. With a lot of cooperation. With a lot of laughter. And no competition here, not even with "Don't Break The Ice". And also no words of wisdom were needed from yours truly to belt out. What a relief it was to see the kids' more favorable natures come forward, instinctively. I certainly must head back to the store soon for similar family fun stuff.

Chuck one up for non-competitive parlor fun.