Essay On Kids Participation Trophies

Argumentative paper

What is the purpose of giving our kids participation trophies in sports at all? It can give them a skewed point of view of their athletic abilities. Also what about the kids that won? How would you feel if the team you just beat got the same trophy as you! Why would you put those who lost on the same level as the winners? Going to practice is expected and something not worth a trophy. This is especially true if a team or a kid goes above expected and ends up in the same spot. We should stop giving kids participation trophies because, kid can get a false sense of their accomplishments and their athletic abilities.

Giving kids participation trophies can give kids a wrong sense of their athletic ability (Berdan, New York Times). When we give kids a trophy for a losing sports season it makes them think they did well. This can make them think that they are just as good as those who won when they really are not. Thinking that can cause you to become over confident and start to brag,or believe you are better than you are. If we keep giving them these participation trophies then they will go into life thinking they are better than they are. Participation trophies could also make them quit because they keep getting a medal for doing nothing. Which

could then cause them to lose interest in the sport (Armideo, Gladiator).
Another downside to giving kids participation trophies is that sports have been made for there to be winners and losers.

When we give everyone a medel it shows that we are all winners. But in life, not everyone gets a trophy; there are winners and losers (Armideo, Gladiator). It is important to teach kids that not everything they do deserves a reward. Sometimes you are just expected to do things and you don’t get a reward. Instead of giving all the kids participation trophies we should let them know we are proud of their effort and work (Fader, The New You) . In doing this we can still support that they did good and tried, but they don’t deserve a trophy because they did not win. Trophies are for

winners.
Constantly telling the successful children they are a natural or you are a winner can make it harder for them when they fail (Fader, The New You). This is one of the many reasons why people support participation trophies. However when the kid who has been told he is a winner loses, they can use that defeat as motivation. I don’t want to lose to that team again. Which in return with life would make them more motivated after they fail. And not just accept defeat. Like those who are ok with complacency and mediocrity and accept participation trophies year after year.
Participation trophies are no good for kids. What good are participation trophies doing, besides giving kids a false sense of accomplishment? They don’t help kids later on in life because they tell kids everyone's a winner. When that’s not true in life. Participation trophies will just make the harsh reality of life hit them even harder, when they find they aren't rewarded for mediocrity. Due to all of these reasons, participation trophies should be taken out of kids sporting programs. Instead, we should encourage our kids to work harder and become passionate about whatever they are doing. By instead of giving them a trophy tell them they tried hard and help them practice and improve themselves.