Liz Atwood talks about the example parents set for their kids when it comes to sports in this week's Tween Tuesday:

This weekend I watched my 9-year-old son’s soccer team lose (again). I believe they have won just one game all season. They have had several ties and a couple of losses.

I tried to reassure my son that he was not to blame for the loss, even though he was the goalie when a couple of the points were scored. It's always a fine line to walk—supporting your child without disparaging anyone else, encouraging competitiveness but at the same time sportsmanship.

Fortunately, most parents I’ve seen at my sons' sporting events have handled both wins and losses graciously, but that is not always the case. Did you catch the video of a brawl that broke out last after a fifth-grade football game in Wisconsin? Both coaches were fired, as I think they should have been.

We're often quick to judge professional athletes for failing to set good examples for our children (think Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger), but we parents shouldn't forget that the example we set is far more important than that of a big-name athlete our kids will never meet.