When I was in high school, all the "cool" kids had a backgammon board they carried around.  Needless  to say, when I had money, I bought one for Rod and me even though the game had gone out of style.  Still, it's a good game to play, if you need something to do.  As we needed this week.

Tyler wanted to play backgammon and I was game (no pun intended).  He handily beat me in the first game -- it made him hungry for another round.  The dice, however, were with me in the second round and I beat Tyler easily.  Worse, he twice rolled a double six but couldn't move because his man was out on the bar.  Boy did that make him steamed.  Tyler lost.  And is he a sore loser!!!

What makes some kids easily handle losing while others struggle with it?  I am not generally a sore loser (though some Wii games aggravate me because I cannot get the gismo to do what I want it to do), but I am also not terribly competitive.  Tyler is a sore loser (always has been) and he is also not competitive.  What makes us behave as we do?  More importantly, is there something I could have done as a parent to make Tyler more easily handle losing?

I hope later today Tyler will be ready for another game of backgammon.  While there is luck involved, he also needs to start learning strategy.  Perhaps being able to see what's happening in the game and knowing the risks will make him more readily accept what happens.