Everybody Wins!

[Alpha]

Even if adults don't keep score, it won't be long before kids start making distinctions between themselves.

This.

Competition is natural and will always exist.

If this trend really does exist, then I am glad. There is such a thing as a positive-sum game, where it is possible for both 'teams' to come away with something.

The whole, "I win, you lose" (negative-sum) attitude is inherently selfish and unsympathetic.

At the same time, "I win, you lose" will always exist. I'm looking forward to it coming down a peg, however.

EDIT: When I was in secondary school (high school), I coached two junior basketball teams. As in all teams, some players were better than others. Not surprisingly, I favoured them in terms of court time, in order to have a better chance of winning.

However what I rewarded above all else was humility, good manners and sportsmanship. If one of my players, even one of the the best, was rude to or about the opposition, I took them off the court. I couldn't care if it was the last minute of the final, and we were down by a single point -- if they were rude, insensitive or arrogant, they did not deserve to play.

I did have skilled players who I detested for such reasons. The attitude they came equipped with is that winning is all that matters, and that values of compassion, camaraderie, tolerance and, well, kindness, were secondary to winning. I refused to reward that, and that is a principle I intend to instill in my children when the day comes.