Age matters when it comes to games

IT can be tempting to let your young child win most of the games you play together. After all, he’s only little and you want to build his confidence.

But you could be conveying that winning is more important than sticking to the rules. “And if the child figures out that Mum or Dad let him win, there’s no sense of achievement in that for him,” says parent coach Val Mullally ( www.koemba.com ).

Letting your child know that you’re allowing him to start a couple of paces ahead of you or to have an extra go because you’re older equalises the playing field, she says.