Winning Isn’t Everything
An important lesson that kids need to learn at a young age is that if they try their best, their actions will have value. The aspects of teamwork, commitment, and striving are crucial to succeeding in anything. Receiving participation trophies is beneficial to the growth of children because they boost kids’ confidence drastically, thus motivating them to do their utmost, inducing them to choose participating in physical activities rather than burning daylight.
Receiving a trophy just for showing up and trying can boost the confidence of young children. Self-esteem is a big part of and can greatly affect one’s childhood. According to social scientists, “ ’Self-esteem among young people in America has reportedly been
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If a child doesn’t have the motivation to do things, they won’t want to try. According to the executive director of The Sports and Society Program at the Aspen Institute and author of “Game On: The All-American Race to Make Champions of Our Children.”, “Participation trophies remind young kids that they are part of something, and may help build enthusiasm to return for another season” (Farrey 3)(Ross 6). Kids are known to have a lot of enthusiasm and energy, but do they display that because they are being showered with constant disappointment, or success and recognition? These trophies show the children that they accomplished something, and they will feel like they are being recognized for their efforts, and won’t be discouraged to try it again. Kenneth Barish, the Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology at Weill Medical College, Cornell University and author of Pride and Joy: A Guide to Understanding Your Child's Emotions and Solving Family Problems, says, “ ‘We want kids to participate in sports, to learn to improve their skills, to help others, to work hard and make a contribution to the team’ ” (Barish 3)(Ross 6). Starting to play sports at a young age gives a lot of time for the child to improve their mental and social skills, and these participation trophies motivate kids to want to get better. Additionally, motivation is an …show more content…
Some researchers say that participation trophies give them a false sense of authority. “ ‘And I rarely encounter a kid who didn't work hard because they think they are getting a trophy anyway. When I do encounter this attitude, it is a symptom of a deeper problem that kid is having with putting forth effort’ ” (Barish 1)(Ross 6). The kids who are actually trying and want to get better don’t feel the need to receive something as recognition that they did it. The kids who get whatever they ask for and have it easy are the ones that feel like they deserve something even if they didn’t put in any effort whatsoever. Pittsburg Steeler James Harrison believes that everything in life needs to be earned and merely trying your best may not always be enough. He says, “These shiny bits of plastic have been blamed for creating an entitled generation who learned to expect adulation for the unexceptional on the playing field and later in life” (Heffernan 3)(Ross 6). Professional athletes have gone through the difficult trials of winning, losing, and hard work. Therefore, they understand what the real world is like, and how to best prepare their children for the hard work that is needed to succeed. What they don’t think about, though, is the fact that children don’t need to
First, it teaches young athletes you need to earn rewards. In the article “Should Young Athletes get Participation Trophies” by A. Pawlowski it states, “If everyone gets a trophy it would not teach kids to earn or strive for something.” ( Today.com Nov. 2013) In another part of this article it
He didn’t take his sport seriously because he knew he was going to get a trophy anyway, whether he won or lost. Giving a trophy to a kid who maybe didn’t participate in a game but tried his absolute hardest in practice to get better is understandable. However, giving a kid who did nothing in practice to make himself better just shows that child that you don’t need to work for anything in life because either way you will get rewarded. “There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” And what about those kids who aren’t that great at activities, or they don’t show up to practices? Should they still get a trophy? Are they qualified to sit in the same category as a kid who works their butts off in practice, shows up everyday, and is a good sport? I understand showing that everyone is equal, but there comes a point when you have to show a child that they need to work for what they
To illustrate, Ashley Merryman, the author of the article “Losing is Good for You” states, “ However, when it comes to rewards, people argue that kids must be treated identically: everyone must always win. That is misguided. And there are negative outcomes. Not for just specific children, but for society as a whole.” This explains that when kids get trophies, they think that they are always going to win, no matter how poorly they did their job. This can cause major problems in the society, such as companies not improving. In addition, Ashley Merryman also states, “ Having studied recent increases in narcissism [having an excessive interest in oneself; an over inflated ego often due to parents’ overvaluation] and entitlement among college students, she [Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me] warns that when living rooms are filled with participation trophies, it’s part of a larger cultural message: to succeed, you just have to show up.” This shows that even young kids are starting to be egoistic, and that can stick with them their entire life. When kids will go into the real world, it would be too late to realize that winning is not important. As a result, narcissism increases in the kids and makes them
Participation trophies to an individual may lead them down a good or bad path, but it depends on how the child receives and views the trophy. The trophy can be harmful making it seem like people don’t have to work hard to accomplish anything, which can affect an individual in the future. The participation of sports is important as it can lead to better time management and teach valuable lessons, and participation trophies help children stay active in the sport. Any individual who receives participation trophies can be lead down a path of
A participation trophy can help a child's drive to improve. When a child plays a game and loses, but then watches the other team get a trophy they feel that they suck and won't try to improve. Once they get a participation trophy they make the child feel like they did good and that next time if they get better they will get a bigger trophy for winning and not losing. For instance, “Further, studies also tell us that children who participate in sports get better…”(Huffington 1). This exemplifies that children who participate feel the drive to get better at the sport. When inferring that since they participated they are getting an award if makes them feel like they did good, and then they want to get even better to get a better reward. Thus making the kids get better at the sport showing that participation trophies are beneficial to children, but there are more opportunities to show how they are
More specifically, Abate argues that trophies will help boost the kids self-esteem. he writes, “ Self-esteem is a big part of one’s childhood. Watching a peer receive a trophy and not receiving one yourself can be degrading.” In this passage, Abate is suggesting that kids deserve something to show that their effort was worthwhile. Moreover, he argues that kids need something to show that their effort was needed to help the team whether they won or not. He writes, “Any kind of honor can make a young kid feel as if he or she meant something to the team, and that could boost the child’s self-confidence -- children today need as much of that as they can get in our society.” In this passage, Abate is suggesting that kids need trophies to boost self-esteem. In conclusion, Abate’s belief is that all children deserve to be rewarded for their work. In my view, Abate is wrong because kids don't deserve a reward for everything they have done. More specifically, I believe that giving children trophies for just playing a sport will make kids feel that they are entitled to things. For example, if a kid has always grown up receiving trophies for their participation they may believe that they deserve a spot on a competitive sports team because they have always been rewarded the same as the other
What exactly is the point of receiving a participation trophy and is there really a point? Getting a participation trophy provides a false sense of winning and accomplishment in children that can be ridiculously hard to break. In the article, “Participation Trophies Send a Dangerous Message,” written by Betty Berden. The article elaborates on why children should not be able to receive a participation trophy and the dangers that come with receiving trophies that children did not win, but some disagree. Parker Abate is one of the opposites, Abate wrote an article named, “In Youth Sports, Participation Trophies Send a Powerful Message,” explaining why children should be getting participation trophies rather than not.
Now every time he gets a trophy they have less and less value. Thus, getting a reward for a simple task, has no point. Another reason kids shouldn’t get participation trophies is their confidence. Initially, “Research has found that the best way to improve kids’ self image is to help them develop their abilities.”
In today's world all a child has to do is show up to practice, go through the motions, and then show up to the game and at the end of the season they get the same trophy as everyone else. In life if someone has a job if all they do is show up to work and do half the stuff they are expected they will be fired. Going to work and giving your best is not something you get a reward for it is an expectation. In the real world you get rewarded for going the extra mile and for being the best at what you do. The youth today is being taught the opposite of
A popular controversial subject is whether or not children should receive awards for participation; recognition for participation makes children lazy. Po Branson says, “Nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve.” If a child knows that he is capable of receiving an award in football, then he will strive to reach his full potential in order to get it. An award like a participation award will cause a child to work less, for he knows that he will receive an award regardless. Trophies should be awarded to individuals who stand out in competition. When everyone participates and receives an award for it, then the award is not really an award. The American Youth Soccer Organization spends 12% of its annual budget on trophies, one for each of its athletes and about one third of these 3500 athletes receive two awards. This shows that even the biggest companies in sports are guilty of giving out pointless awards for kids
This is a similar attitude to that of their parents, although the parents are clearer that participation trophies ultimately devalue a trophy that a child really earn. This results in all of the children feeling like winners, which is a bad thing (Johnson 326). “Winning” should be excluded to just the kids who actually earn it, and this quote explains exactly why. If one does not get used to failure to learn from it and get better, then they are not doing anything beneficial for themselves. They are just prolonging the feeling of success and when reality hits them, they will fold
Not only on the field but in the classroom. With giving everyone a trophy you leave out a big factor of life that pushes people and that's competing. Kelly wallace quoted Nfl super bowl champ Kurt warner who said “They don't let kids pass classes for just showing up.” if anyone knows something about competing it's a former super bowl champ and Kurt says a lot in this simple sentence. Through life nothing is just given to you.
Many children across the country receive rewards, and prizes for playing a sport. Instead of just recognizing the best or top performers, “...many sports programs have started awarding trophies to all athletes, regardless of their performance.” Some argue that the idea of giving everyone a trophy for participation sends the wrong message, and does not reward hard work. Some say that rewarding a trophy to everyone encourages kids to continue playing a sport even if they are not the best (Should Everyone Get a Trophy). Everyone should not receive a trophy just solely on participation.
Personally I have never just been given a trophy or an award for participating I have always earned by award and I tried and failed until I succeeded in doing so. Not being given participation awards has taught me to you have to work for what you want in life whether this applies to sports, work, school or any personal goes. I have failed many times and succeeding gives me the greatest satisfaction that over powers any failure. I also am more driven when I fail, I do not give up until my gaol is achieved. If all kids are rewarded for everything they participate in then they will never grasp the feeling of actually earning a goal they worked for and that will not prepare them for life.
1 Tyler Stevens Kathy Sumner English IV 6 November 2014 Trophies In today’s world, kids are awarded trophies and ribbons for simply participating in the event. This can affect the kids in a positive and a negative way. The effects of trophies and achievements on kids are the sense of accomplishment, Happiness in the kids, and also a winning attitude.