MOMMY BLOG: 'Daddy, Mommy, did I win?'

So how young is old enough to be competitive in sports?

My husband and I took our kids to the Summerfair Jim Thorpe Track Meet last night. It will be a few years before our 3-month old can participate, but our 4-year-old competed for the second straight year.

He may not have a future in track – he prefers hunting for rocks while waiting in the long jump line to actually jumping – but he managed to improve on last year’s marks in every event.

(We think Eli could have even placed second in his 50 dash heat if he hadn’t been holding his hands over his ears to block out the loud noise of the starting gun; my husband had to nudge him into action, putting him a good two seconds behind the other adorable little runners.)

We told Eli several times how proud we were of him. Then he asked if he won.

Well, no. But at age 4, should that even matter? I don’t think Eli cared. He asked in passing, as we made our way to the night’s real highlight, some time on the nearby playground.

But judging from a few of the parents we saw coaching their kids, coming home without a win would have been a disappointment for some.

I’ve always subscribed to the “just do your best” approach in sports, especially for very young kids. I don’t think you should even consider pushing competitiveness until your kid is in elementary school, preferably until he or she can read.

Parents have an obligation to their children to make sure they don’t get caught up in competition too early. If you push too hard, you could push your kids away from the sport they once loved.

The best thing about sports is the lessons they can teach, about winning with style and losing with grace.

Still, I have to admit that I was extremely excited when my husband told me this morning that Eli had just missed out on the third-place ribbon in the softball throw.

Source: http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2009/07/08/blogs/because_i_said_so/doc4a54b0820e683282701307.txt