Should Participation Rewards Be Paid?

When you were a kid, did you get participation trophies right and left, just for being on the team? If so, now that you’re older, do you regret being handed those trophies or are you glad you got them? A debate has recently flared about whether or not participation trophies should be given at sporting events. I can understand both sides and see why they think what they do, therefore I remain undecided.
There are several reasons why participation trophies can be good for younger athletes. At such a young age, they are just learning about commitment. When they are rewarded for going to practice, they are taught about commitment. Also, if parents give back their trophy, it promotes that you’ll only be awarded for something if you’re the best person on the team (Website #1). Children are also just finding confidence. In one recent study by Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck, fifth graders were given an easy IQ test. When they finished, they were told on of these two things; “Wow, you got a high score. You must be really smart,” or,

“Wow, you got a high score. You must have worked really hard,”. When they were offered to take a harder test, 67% of the kids told they were smart took it, and 92% of the kids told they had good effort took the test (Website #1).
On the other hand, the participation trophies so frequently handed out could be damaging our society.

Recent studies have shown that rewarding children simply for participating can make them narcissistic and unmotivated. It can also have biological impacts. “If you constantly reward a kid, you spoil them, and you don’t build a capacity for them to be resilient to frustration,” says C. Robert Cloninger, a doctor at Washington University. Parents may also be part of the problem. They may be giving their children a large self- worth without even noticing it (Website #2).
Overall, I believe that participation trophies are neither good nor bad. Being awarded for showing up to a soccer game may help a child’s confidence and effort depending on their age, but it may also damage their future and their ability to accept failure. I will stay undecided until more informational studies are released that convince me one way or

another.