Can you tell this is the child of a woman who loathes competition?


Tonight at dinner, our 5-year-old was talking with cousin Mark about his day at school. Mark enjoys sports, and the girls are all fascinated with his discussions of football practice each day. Tonight he was telling them about a new game he had played in gym class. The discussion went something like this:

Mark: I got to be the goalie. . . [much discussion on what that entailed…]

5-year-old: Wow. [almost breathless fascination]

Mark: I finally figured out how to get past this tall girl and keep the other team from getting the ball.

5-year-old: [a little shocked] Why do you keep the ball away from them?

Mark: So your team can win. You don’t want to give the ball to the other team.

5-year-old: [getting sadder by the minute] But that’s not very nice, is it? I mean, we’re supposed to share. Sharing is what will help your team feel happy.

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