The Heacock Flock


Saturday, May 7, 2011

If you don't win, who wins?

I realized today that my original goal for this blog was to post twice a month.  I'm barely meeting that goal.  I was reflecting on the month of April and the first thing that came to my mind was rain! The rain kept us indoors which lead us to board games.  And that lead us to this next post.

The past couple of months we have noticed a more competitive side of Jamon.  We've always described him as easy going and maybe even a little cautious compared to other 4 year old boys.  However, when it comes to playing board games or any little race of any sort a very competitive side appears.  A couple of weeks ago, Jamon was setting up a game and asked Jeremiah:  "If you don't win, who wins?"  Jeremiah responded:  "you would win."  Jamon smiled.

Jeremiah and I think competition is a great thing.  Competition is what drives a person to improve, to work hard, to overcome obstacles.  Not everyone is competitive.  It's a great characteristic when its controlled. There is an obvious down side in being too competitive.  Being a sore loser.  Jamon actually ended in tears a few times over Chutes & Ladders, Guess Who, Memory and Candyland.  We've had to seriously talk to him about self-control, rejoicing for the other person when they win, and explaining that you cannot always win but you can always try your best.  If the circumstance was not based on a pre-school board game, I would have taken this as an opportunity to talk about "practicing."  But really, can you "practice" these board games?

Speaking of practicing.....Jamon has been practicing.  He practices basketball, dribbling, shooting hoops, tackling, recovering the fumble.  He practices the games that he plays at AWANA's.  He practices playing Chutes & Ladders with his firemen at the fire station.  He practices anything that can possibly be practiced.  It's going to be very interesting to see if this personality trait will stay through adolescence or if its just a stage.  Jamon is a great kid.  He is an intelligent and kind kid too.  He also just wants to win....

1 comment:

  1. Oh that Jamon! He's such a great kid. I doubt that this will be a phase for him. Take a look at his dad, uncle, grandpa......I love that he "practices" with his firemen. Too funny:)

    ReplyDelete