How to Teach Kids to Be a Good Loser and Quick Tips and Ideas for Stronger, Happier Families [Friday’s Fast Five 20th Edition]

Building a stronger, happier family is at the top of most parents’ list. However, we are busy! These weekly Fast Five ideas and tips are a quick way to brainstorm, check-in, and create the family relationships you really want. This week’s Fast Five includes recyclable inventions, how to teach kids to be a good loser, a service idea, and more. Happy Friday, and Happy New Year!

* These ideas are NOT meant to be a checklist or guilt trip of things we “should do.” Rather, they are intended to inspire you to find what works for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together. Remember to stick to the Simple Side of Parenting.

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What is Friday’s Fast Five?

Each Friday, we share five quick and simple ideas for families under the following categories:

• Something fun
• A Little Lesson
• A Service Idea
• Something Random
• A Quick Tip

As I try to simplify my own parenting journey and help others do the same, these help us think about what I feel is a simple version of good parenting…learn, laugh, love.

Subscribers also receive exclusive tips and downloads to simplify parenting life.

With that, here is the twentieth edition of Friday’s Fast Five. (You can find other editions HERE.)

1. Something Fun: Inventions from Recyclables

This fun idea is great for the imagination and creativity!

Gather your recyclable items like boxes and paper tubes. You might want to save up your recyclables for a while before this activity. Be prepared with packing tape or other simple craft items.

Encourage everyone to create something unique. The last time we did this activity we ended up with a robot, pretend vacuum, swimming pool for plastic animals, musical instruments, and more.

It’s really fun to see what everyone invents!

2. A Little Lesson: How to Teach Kids to Be a Good Loser

As with most lessons in life, this one is best learned through practice.

Some kids are naturally more competitive than others, and some will take losing really hard. However, we’re all going to lose sometimes! It’ll bring lifelong benefits if we can figure out how to teach kids to be a good loser. Here are a few ideas.

How to Teach Kids to Be a Good Loser

• Talk about what it looks, sounds, and feels like to be a good loser.
• Point out real-life examples of good losing and poor losing as you watch sports and other events together.
• Role play losing.
• Set the expectation for good sportsmanship and follow-through in sports, games, and voting for which family movie to watch.
• Teach that when we’re a good loser we’re more fun to play with. This will help others want to play with us more and help us be a good friend.
• After emotions have cooled from losing, debrief about how we still survived, what we can learn from the experience, and how events can still be fun when we lose. (This is also a great way to build a growth mindset and increase self-esteem!)
• And the best idea…prepare for it with these other ideas and then PRACTICE!

It’s fun (and sometimes much easier!) to let our kids win. However, it’s usually better if we also let them lose sometimes.

Games to Teach Kids to Lose Gracefully

Here are a couple games we love that have ups and downs throughout the game that can be good practice to help kids learn to be a good loser.

• Sorry!
  • In this “Game of Sweet Revenge” players are continually knocked back to start.
• UNO
  • With cards that say “Draw 2” or “Draw 4,” UNO is good practice for things not always going our way.
• Hi Ho! Cherry-O
  • As players try to fill their baskets with fruit, they learn to not be upset when they roll the animals that eat their fruit or the space that dumps the basket.

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Related Funny: Cheater, Cheater

Wondering how to fit Little Lessons into your busy family schedule?

The two main ways to fit important lessons into your busy family schedule are to find spontaneous teaching moments throughout the day and to schedule family learning time each week. These two posts go into detail about these two ways and tips for making it happen with your family.

How Busy Parents Can Teach Important Life Lessons

6 Tips for Family Time that Teaches Life’s Most Important Lessons

3. A Service Idea: Teach a Skill

Each of us have unique talents. Using those talents for good is a true service.

Have each family member make a list of their talents or skills. Choose one that would be a service to teach or share. Spend some time working on the skill or serving with it. This could be a simple as helping a younger sibling learn a piano song or playing a beautiful piece for an elderly person.

Service is a great way to build a stronger, happier family. If you want more service ideas, request Raising Compassionate Children in a Conceited World, which includes 101 Service Ideas for Families.

4. Something Random: That’ll Be a Mess

Anyone working toward a cleaner home this year?

Help everyone learn to clean-up after themselves!

Related: The 5 E’s of Teaching Kids to Work

5. A Quick Tip: Fitness

Whether we’re thinking about it for ourselves or our kids, getting healthier is often on our minds at this time of year.

It’s beneficial for us to spend some time evaluating what messages we’re sending our kids by the way we approach our own health and fitness. Are we doing it because we feel worthy of health and happiness? Will our kids learn from us that a scale doesn’t determines their worth? Is our example showing that exercise is one of the best ways to improve physical and mental health?

If fitness is on your list this year but it’s a struggle to make it happen (hello real life!), this post has some helpful ideas and examples: How to Set Fitness Goals as a Busy Mom.

I hope you and your Littles find fun and realistic ways to be fit!

And that is Friday’s Fast Five!

You can also see Friday’s Fast Five on Instagram or other editions HERE.

Building a Stronger, Happier Family

It takes time and intention to build a stronger, happier family. I hope Friday’s Fast Five helps you find the ways that work for YOUR family to learn, laugh, and love together.

We will never regret the time we devote to our families and relationships with our kids.

Have a great weekend with your family, know that you’re loved, and keep on lovin’!

Do you have a great idea for a future Friday’s Fast Five? Have a question or parenting struggle you want help with? Share in the comments, shoot me an Email, or schedule a call.

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