High Maintenance Mom

This winter highmaintenancemom.com and Good Manners Kids' Stuff Press is giving away The Kids' (and parents', too!) Book of Good Sportsmanship: An easy-to-read guide for families , by Leslie A. Susskind. Now that my kids are getting out of parallel play and the oldest even into organized sports, it is time to talk about being a good sport. I first realized it needed to be addresses when my oldest was playing a board game with another friend and got very sad when the friend won. I was giving the friend high fives and big smiles but not my daughter. We talked about it (how does it feel when you win, how must it feel when your friends win, you love your friends, etc) and it sunk in well. I told my husband and he jumped on the good sportsmanship bandwagon too....(more)

I like the way the book uses examples of kids behavior and then walks through how the situation could be handled. Some of my favorite tips are being nice to the other team is like being nice to your teammates, respecting the officials shows you understand they are in charge and being there is important to learn the sport and respect other teammates time. Each tip has a section for parents to help encourage the good sportsmanship and at the end of the book is a certificate of completion for your child and you to sign.

I like the parent involvement in the book since kids follow by example. I would recommend this book for any child who participates in sports! It's fun, not overwhelming and something you can go back to over the years. Enjoy!

How to enter: Every time you login to High Maintenance Mom you will be entered in the giveaway. If you do not have an account, you can enter by sending feedback through the site feedback form with your name, address, and contact phone number (for shipping purposes). Giveaway runs through the end of April, 2010.

Thank you Leslie Suskind and Good Manners Kids Stuff for this giveway!