Dealing with disappointment

When a child is disappointed--say, he doesn't make the cut for getting on the team--the parent vicariously feels the hurt. How can he help the child? Many parents would offer sympathy, might try to arrange something that could be a consolation, and would hope to counsel the child to grow from the experience, to learn how to deal with setbacks, to learn good sportsmanship, to be as graceful as possible even in disgrace.

Or they might use another approach.