Competition is a part of life. It gives rise to the chances of either winning or losing. As the population is increasing and resources are getting scarcer, competition is also increasing. To survive and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, it is very important for children to have the competitive spirit.

So, how can we foster a healthy competitive spirit in our children?

According to an article titled ‘How to Make Kids Competitive’ written by Maria Magher on a website named howtoadult.com in September 2017, “A positive experience with team competition can motivate children to do more. Choose a sport that your child likes playing at home or has interest in learning more about.”

And according to an article titled ‘Teaching Healthy Competition’ written by Dr Sylvia Rimm on her website sylviarimm.com, “Parents can teach their children to be resilient. Children can learn to creatively view their failures and losses as learning experiences. When failure occurs, they can identify the problems, remedy the deficiencies, reset their goals, and grow from their experiences. As coping strategies, they can laugh at their errors, determine to work harder, and/or redesign their achievement goals. Most important, they can see themselves as falling short of a goal, not falling short as people.”

Breakingmuscle.com has listed five ways to cultivate the spirit of healthy competition in young children, which includes: giving children structure, giving them space, using ‘companion planting’, knowing what they need and taking it slow.

Parents should remember that having a competitive spirit confers great benefits on children and can help to encourage values of discipline, teamwork and integrity.