Children Need To Play, Not Compete, By Jessica Statsky

In today’s society, it seems as if everything is a competition. From competing for a spot at the best school to attend to competing against fellow colleagues for the best position in the job field; it is a constant fight for the top spot. In Jessica Statsky’s essay, “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” she explains the harsh effects that occur in our children’s lives if they are put into competitive sports too early in life. It is understandable that the world needs to be competitive in order for it to grow and expand. However, if competition is enforced too much at a young age, children may start to doubt themselves, believing that they are not as superior or as smart as their fellow classmates and friends. Sometimes this may even cause

them to end up hating the activity that they are pursuing. That is why parents should push their children in the right direction that best suits their child, but they should not force their children on an activity to the point where the child is no longer happy with what they are doing. Competition in children is good due to the fact that it’s a building block that aides them in building up confidence for later on in life, but harsh competition at a very young age can be mentally draining for a child.
First off, putting a child in a competitive sport at a young age can lead to physical and mental damage that would affect them in their near future. Most parents believe that if they start their children off young, then their children will be more successful in whatever sport they are pursuing. However, the alternative outcome is that it can also cause their child to burn out and drop the sport by the time they become a teenager. Additionally, sometimes parents might forget or do not understand that their child does not like the sport they are playing, which causes the child to likely try less and find a way out of not playing in the game. In Statsky’s essay she explained how there was a child about seven-years-old who was playing a Peewee Football game and no longer wanted to play. The child told the coach that his “tummy hurts” in order to avoid the game, but the coach did not accept his statement, so the little boy forced himself to vomit onto the ground to appear more convincing. This action from the little child shows how competitive sports have psychological dangers and can cause children to harm themselves in order to stay out of a sport. When parents start their children at a young age, it can cause their child to scheme ways to avoid playing and sometimes it can disencourage the child which is very harmful to their mental and physical health.
Even though competition at a young age can be harmful, it can also be very helpful if done right. Healthy competition can demonstrate taking risk and setting goals for children. It can also be a strong building block to what their future selves will be like and how they will handle losses in reality. Competitions teach children the amount of effort they have to put into something in order to gain the outcome that they desire. At a young age, children’s parents should start off by encouraging their child to have fun, play their best, and help the child develop a love for whatever they are participating in. Parents should not scream at their child if they miss nor should they train their child to the point where they are physically exhausted because it can cause damage to their still growing bodies and may result in the child maintaining lifelong injuries. If parents do this action and live through their children, it may cause children to be discouraged from the sport and make them feel as if they cannot make their parents happy and are not reaching their expectations. Yet, if parents encourage their children to just have fun, their children will eventually learn what an amazing feeling it is to have fun and win at the same time. Having this knowledge, can cause children to try harder at their own pace in whatever they are doing in order to always have the amazing feeling of winning. This method will allow children to not be pushed too hard and still be able to have fun without having to feel that they have to get approval from their parents and coaches. With this building block, it allows children to develop their own competitive nature and drive to win at their own speed, which is good because every child is different. It will also not put that much strain on a child’s body if they do not play competitively while their bodies are still developing. In the end, if children are not put directly into competitive sports at such a young age and start out slow in non-competitive sports first, they will be able to develop their own instincts and be happy with themselves.
In addition, if children are not as competitive at a young age, they will be able to see the joy in whatever activity they are doing.

Once the whistle blows most people are more focused on the goal of the game, which is to win. This causes them to not fully enjoy the game and just go through the motion and the flow of the game. Children today are not allowed to just have fun because a lot of parents and coaches put a lot of pressure on them and are focused on winning. In Statsky’s writing, she explained how during scrimmage, the children are having fun and enjoying their time, but once the game starts, the happiness seems to disappear from the children’s faces. This proves how kids just want to have fun and not be competitive. Also, most children are afraid of failure, which might keep them from performing at their best ability during a competitive game, even if they are capable of it. It will also make them scared to play in competitive sports because they don’t want to let their team down. Without competition early on, children are allowed to just have fun with their friends, which is what most children at their age what to do. Also at a young and tender age, most children do not want to ram hard into their friends and it can be a traumatic experience for young kids who do. In addition, if the kid themselves end up getting hit, the child might never fully enjoy the sport and might not want to play the sport ever again. All in all, without competition at a young age, children are able to just play the sport for fun without fear and develop their skills, which may later on help them when they do decide to play

competitively.
In conclusion, competition at a young age can be beneficial, but it can also be damaging. At a young age, the right type of children are able to be pushed hard, want to be in competitive sports, and are able to excel. However, the majority of children cannot handle this amount of pressure and stress. The children that can not be pushed to their breaking point, end up feeling as if they are not capable of doing anything right and end up giving up on the sport that they once loved. It is true that competition is everywhere in the world, but it should not be forced upon young children, who mostly do not know what they are being signed up for. Competition is great and all but children should be a little older, near ten-years-old, before they are put into competitive sports by their parents. At the end of the day, children should be put into competitive sports and activities in order to learn valuable lessons, but only when the child is ready so that they do not become mentally and psychically drained at such a young age.