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competitive behavior in kids

competitive behavior in kids2012-02-08T20:05:57+00:00

The Forums Forums Ask The Community competitive behavior in kids

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  • #90505

    Anonymous
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    Post count: 14413

    We sat in on lectures Dr. Jain gave on child & human emotional / psychological development, about 10 years ago when my husband was diagnosed with ADHD. We now have two grandchildren, and although neither has ADD, my question is about natural competitiveness in young children (4 – 5 years old) What is competition about / why do they do it, and how to handle it as a parent or grandparent?

    Say for example, playing a board game – we keep trying to steer towards just having fun, but even so young, the 4 year old grandson just loves to “win”, which is mortifying to my son / his dad, who scolds him for doing it… I would like to keep the peace and don’t have a clue what the motivation for the competition is about.

    My grandson is an only child, but he does go to daycare…? We wonder if that’s where he’s picking it up.

    So, what’s “healthy” competition, why do children do it, and how does one keep it from becoming an “unhealthy” problem / obsession? And of course, the downside is NOT winning…. Thank you!

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    #112258

    Anonymous
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    Post count: 14413

    As animals, we all have a competitive, call it alpha male complex. It is normal. It is important to find things that are, however, unique to the child that they can’t compete against so that there are separate ways for the children to get that individual attention. For example, don’t have them play the same sport (unless there is a sufficient age gap where the role then becomes one of mentor).

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