Sore Loser

My son is a sore loser. Period. No matter what the game, if he loses, he's more likely than not to burst into tears or express extreme frustration in one form or another.

When first introduced to the Wii, if winning in competition, he would tell his competitor to "be happy for others!" Meaning himself. Now, I can be guilty of expressing frustration when, say, I keep going down the same chute over and over in Chutes and Ladders, or get sent back to the gingerbread man in Candyland when I've almost reached the end.

I've been good about praising and congratulating him when I have lost, and pointed out that he doesn't see me or his dad flipping out when WE lose (OK, except for once when I sent my husband home in a game of LIFE, for which he has still not forgiven me, 17 years later). But my son not only has been known to throw the Wii remote when angry (once, for which he was grounded), when I got a hole in one in the mini-golf game, he actually—whoops!—turned the game off. He said it was an accident (my mother, looking on, thought this was priceless). Or sometimes he wants to start over because he has knocked the pieces off the board or, better yet, wanders away, uninterested.

Granted, I could give him speeches on how he should be glad we have the time to play with him in the first place, but I figure attaching too much attention to this particular bugaboo might be as harmful as doing nothing. When he pitches fits, he is admonished, games taken away, etc., but other than by example, anyone have a thought as to how to make my son a gracious loser as opposed to a sore loser?

I'm not sure if he carries this behavior outside the home—no reports as of yet—but I certainly don't WANT him to! A 5-year-old John McEnroe is not what I want to unleash upon the world. He is generally balanced emotionally, except when tired or ill, but this whole winning/losing thing is becoming ... well, a THING.