

But also help her learn to handle errors when they do occur in order to avoid a meltdown mid-competition. If she plays an individual sport, encourage her to log her times and scores, so she becomes accountable for her progress throughout the season. "Some kids improve, others will get worse, and there's no way to predict how it will turn out." Remind your child to focus only on her own performance and not on other kids'.

"Everything can change once kids hit puberty," Dr. Unfortunately, when 7-year-olds realize that they're not as good as their 9-year-old teammates, they may get down on themselves and want to give up. But because of age cutoffs and mixed-age divisions, kids often compete against others who are nearly two years older, and that can mean significant height, weight, and skill differences. It's normal for kids at this age to measure themselves against their teammates and opponents.
