How to Teach Your Kids to Be Good Sports

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From High-Fives to Handshakes: How to Teach Your Kids to Be Good Sports

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Ellen Sturm Niz on May 31, 2011 at 1:54PM

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a Ellen Sturm Niz on May 24, 2011 at 10:02AM

Of course you tell your kid, “Be a good sport,” but have you thought about what that means, exactly? If we don’t know, we can’t expect our kids to get it. “It’s playing by the rules, giving your best effort and being appreciative of the efforts of others,” says Joel Fish, Ph.D., a sports psychologist, the director of the Center for Sports Psychology in Philadelphia and the author of 101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent. “It’s being humble in the sense of not developing a big head about winning, and being gracious, shaking hands or tipping your hat to your opponent.”