Kids need to learn how to compete. It’s part of our culture. Whether or not you’re trying to raise born winners who will gleefully trounce their enemies at any cost, all young minds have to go head to head with their peers at some point. Kids should be taught how to win gracefully and lose with dignity, and, most importantly, how to experience the deep rewards that come from hard work and prolonged effort. It also doesn’t hurt that winning feels fantastic! There’s the classic method of using sports to teach kids about the competitive spirit and the thrill of victory, but why limit your little ones?

There are whole constellations of other competitive activities for kids, many of which can impart real-world skills they’ll use for the rest of their lives. We have devised a few alternative ways to get kids hungry for victory.