Encouraging Persistance

“Read me a book now, please” “We don’t have time now, we have to get you to school.” “please, please, read me a book….whine.whine, whine…..” “No, we can’t do it now. We can read the book later.” “Well then I never want to read another book again ever.”

He’ll maintain a no-book policy for a few days.

How do you encourage stick-to-it-iveness in a young person, a small child, a 4 1/2 year old? If a child at this young age gives up because he doesn’t win, isn’t good at it, doesn’t like your rules, is it a sign for the lack of perseverence he might exhibit as he grows? Or is he just acting 4 1/2?

I found a few articles about this, but most seem focused on kids wanting to quit hobbies, lessons, etc. That’s not applicable here.

I’m interested in the scenarios where we are playing a game. I score a point. He gets pissed. Game ends abruptly. “We aren’t quitters,” I lament in situations like this, with the books above and so many others. It does me no good.

Articles addressing topics like raising a determined child, don’t seem to address scenarios like I encounter. I certainly could be overthinking it, but there is a definite trend here. I won’t worry yet, but I will definitely be keeping my eyes and ears open and looking for better ways to counteract it in a positive way.