Thoughts for the Week:

Competition can be hard for young children, and it's likely to become a part of their lives from the moment they realize that parents' love and attention have to be shared with others. In fact, I've come to think that a fear of losing love is what makes "losing" difficult for many of us our whole life long: Deep down inside we feel that winners are the ones people love the best. If we can help young children feel that it is they, themselves we love, not their winning or their losing, then we will be giving them a healthy start in coping with the many competitions that lie ahead.