You win!

Playing games with your little ones is great, they love the attention, the interaction and the challenge of a proper board game with rules and a dice and characters to move around. The temptation for many parents is to let their children win all the time. Deal the cards favorably, land on the snake when it really was the ladder or simply miscount the number on the dice.

However, there comes a time when your child will have to learn about winning and loosing: whether its a table top game or a team sport. Rather than allow them only to feel the thrill of winning every time, children need to learn about losing - because it does happen.

By letting them lose sometimes when they are little, it will encourage them to be gracious whether winning or loosing. It's fine to feel happy about winning - of course it is. And, to feel a little sad if you lose. But the important thing is to teach them about playing fairly and the importance of doing their best. Let them win sometimes, but if they are used to winning every time, you may end up with a stroppy, moody opponent, rather than a fun opponent!