As parents, we love to see our children thriving in activities, doing well at school, in sport and having skills that set them apart from other children. We are proud of them and we tell them how great they have done but how do we stop them when they take their competitiveness too far – when they make comments and exhibit superiority over their friends?

We can encourage our children to tone it down their language and explain to them how being competitive can hurt their friends. We can also discuss the difference between healthy competition and overly competitiveness – which one do they think they are displaying?

We are great influencers in our children’s lives and competitive may come from us. Take a look at yourself and ask are you are putting too much pressure on your child to win or are you punishing your child for coming second? It is very easy for proud parents to make ‘show off’ statements about their children – comments that put pressure on your child to succeed and also make them feel they are exceptionally superior to their peers.