Playing sports is a vital part of a child's development, but teaching good sportsmanship is just as vital, if not more so. Good sportsmanship is more than just not cheating, yelling, or lashing out; it's about teaching positive self-esteem, learning from adversity, and winning even when the score says you lost.

As your children get older, the role of sports, and how they view them, will change as well. Children use sports as a way to compare their skills with others and to socially adapt. But as children get older, the objective starts to change from just having fun to wanting to win, which also means they need to learn about losing.

Multiple studies have shown that the way children handle winning and losing is directly influenced by their parents. So here are some ways to keep your children playing sports with a smile, while being a good sport for a lifetime.

• Want to win, but don't hate to lose. It's alright for winning to be the primary objective, but it's important to explain about losing as well. Everyone wants to win, but at one time or another, everyone loses. Use your children's favorite sports hero as an example. Then show how their sports hero used the experience of losing as motivation to become a champion.
  
  
• Embrace mistakes. Everyone from elite athletes to young children will make silly mistakes on the playing field. The key to good sportsmanship is to constructively show how everyone makes mistakes, even if they aren't aware that they did. There is no such thing as a flawless game at any level. Teaching your children that errors in judgment and skill are part of what makes sports great will increase their appreciation for when things go right, and will help them better accept the outcome when things go wrong.
  
  
• Use examples. When you see specific examples of good and bad sportsmanship (not arguing a call, laughing at the other team), point them out to your children and explain why they were good or bad. The next time they emulate this behavior (whether good or bad), tell them. Keeping emotional control is one of the biggest factors in being a good sport and in building positive self-esteem. By constantly showing them examples of how their reactions affect everyone on and off the field, you'll help teach them a sports lesson they will never forget.