When children are young, parents often sign them up for activities: sports, dance, swim, etc. Usually at the end of the season, trophies are given out to these kids. In one of the "Room for Debates," people talk about whether participation trophies should be given out to kids when they participate in these extracurricular activities. I know that some people think that not giving out participation trophies lowers the child's self-esteem, but some say that they need to learn that losing is not the end of the world.
Debater Ashley Merryman believes that if children receive a trophy, regardless of effort or achievement, we're teaching kids that losing is so terrible that we can never let it happen. She says that letting kids lose isn't about embarrassing them, rather "teaching them it can take a long time to get good at something, and that's all right". Other debaters also agree that it's through failure and mistakes that we learn the most, and focusing on process and progress is more important than results and rewards.
Though this may be true, other debaters, like Parker Abate, believe that it is necessary to give kids the confidence they need by handing out these trophies. He gives us an example of how a not-so-talented fourteen year old will never be good enough to be on a competitive sports team and that by giving him a trophy, it makes him feel like he is a valuable member of the team. He also says that watching other peers get a trophy without getting one yourself is disappointing. Abate believes that we should do everything we can do to make the child feel like they are needed and wanted.
Do you guys believe that giving children participation trophies gives them a boost of confidence or sets them up for disappointment later in life? Does age have anything to do with which kids should get a participation trophy, or should it be the same for all ages? Does the possibility of earning a trophy or an award help to motivate you? Did it affect how hard you tried?
I think that participation trophies can in a sense destroy a child's drive to be the best. If you give everyone a trophy, it takes away the value of being the best. I think it;s important to encourage children to do their best and at the same time help them realize that not winning isn't the end. Personally, the thought of a trophy or award encouraged me to bring a better quality of work to whatever I was participating in, as well as strengthen my competitive and ambitious habits. In short, no, participation trophies should not be normalized in children's activities.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do believe that giving children participation trophies gives them a boost of confidence, it can end up impacting their way of thinking in the long run. For example, if in a contest everyone is given a trophy, regardless of the amount of effort they put in, those who didn’t work as hard to win would be satisfied with their work. This impacts their mentality, as they wouldn’t strive to do their best,such as in extracurricular activities, because they will end up being rewarded anyways. Instead of receiving participation trophies, children should be encouraged to try again until they succeed. Like Amia mentioned, winning isn’t the end. This also reminds me of the saying to learn from your mistakes, which can be applied to the idea of participation trophies. Children who don’t receive trophies are granted an opportunity to learn what they did wrong and improve; as opposed to receiving a trophy they didn’t necessarily earn. Therefore, handing out participation trophies to all children during activities is counterproductive.
ReplyDeleteFor as long as I can remember, I've always been enrolled in sports and sports have become a big part of my life that helped build my character. Playing sports during adolescence teaches you so many things, like hard work pays off and relevantly, handling failure. Children playing any sport will eventually have to deal with losing a game, and their disappointment in themselves can leave a dent in their self esteem. The participation trophy is simply a nice consolation prize and it helps children realize that one loss doesn’t mean that they completely failed; the trophy means that even though you lost this game, your effort is being rewarded. Personally, as a kid, without those small momentos I probably would’ve been so heartbroken and quit after one loss, but those trophies made me want to come back to practice, year after year and keep trying to get better. As children get older, being given a participation trophy becomes repetitive and it’s apart of life for each kid to realize that those trophies mean nothing compared to your work ethic and your mentality for success. All in all, it’s an unsaid rite of passage to be given participation trophies as a kid, to then learn that losses will not always be rewarded and later, trophies will always lose their meaning.
ReplyDeleteNormalizing participation trophies in children's activities may not be as destructive as it is made out to be. Based on Kimberly and Amia's arguments, I can see how participation trophies may have some counterproductive effects. However, most people recognize the idea that because everyone receives a participation trophy, its value is greatly diminished. In these types of settings, there are usually a hierarchy of awards given out that recognize the individual accomplishments of a few select children who likely worked harder and succeeded. This alone teaches children a valuable lesson; minimal effort will be awarded to a certain extent, but there is a much higher sense of accomplishment that comes with receiving a unique reward that is not handed out to every participant.
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of participation trophies altogether disregards the hard work of some children who did work hard but were not able to succeed. At such a young age, kids should not be stripped of their confidence because of their inability to succeed in one situation. They should instead be motivated to keep trying despite their failures and work harder to receive a better reward next time. Children should not have to confront such rigid demands because they are just starting to understand things about the world and their own interests. They should not have to be thrown into a state of unhealthy competition and self deprecation in order to meet the expectations of a society guided by the capitalist mindset.
I believe that participation trophies should be given out, because they give the extra boost of confidence. Oftentimes, people seek out participation trophies to be unneeded, but really, they just make the child try harder next time. Giving participation trophies is not as detrimental to children’s mental development as it is sought out to be. Receiving a participation trophy makes you feel accomplished, whilst knowing you could still try harder. As Mia explained, some kids could try their absolute hardest, but are still not able to be the most successful. Many may argue that you should not hand out participation trophies to teach kids the reality of the harsh world, but it seems unhealthy to rip the confidence of children at such a young age.
ReplyDeleteI believe that participation trophies may give children a boost of confidence but to a certain extent. Like how Mia stated, the hierarchy of awards comes with different levels of accomplishment. I think age should play a part in whether or not someone receives a participation award. A child in elementary school shouldn’t feel discouraged if they aren’t as good as everyone else. They are just starting to try new things and explore their interests. So giving them an award for their effort may help them continue to strive and get better at whatever they are competing for. I believe that when a child is older, around the time they are in middle school, they should be mature enough to understand that losing isn’t the end. If anything, not receiving anything should help them try even harder to receive a first, second, or third trophy. Similarly to Lily, I have been enrolled in many sports throughout my childhood and even now. Like Lily said, playing sports during adolescence does teach you how to handle failure and that hard work pays off. I have learned that losing should be followed by trying harder, even if I did try my best, it teaches me that I could always become better. The possibility of earning a participation award or trophy doesn’t motivate me because everyone would be getting that same award, no matter how much effort they put. The possibility of placing first, second, or third place motivates me to try my hardest because no two people can get the same award, unless you of course tie with the other person.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that participation trophies should be given out especially for children of young ages. If a participant were to receive an award they would actually feel as if they had a purpose in the activity. However, I do believe there should not only be participation awards. Imagine being the best one in a sports team and your team doesn't win, yet you do not receive anything different from the rest of your teammates. This will cause you to feel as if your hard work, which achieved everyone else’s in your team, was worthless. This can also cause children to not be as motivated to strive for first, second, or third place in an activity due to them always receiving the same thing. Therefore, if both participation and other awards, given to few, were awarded then children would feel the motivation to strive for their best.
ReplyDeleteTyra, what is your opinion on giving out participation trophies?
Participation trophies do not prepare children for the real world. Participation trophies are one of the many things that cause children to believe they are always “special” and will always be “special.” There is nothing wrong about teaching a child that they are indeed worthy and prized, but overfeeding children this sense of self-importance is dangerous. This is evident with Millennials and some members of Generation Z. Millennials, because of rather poor parenting choices, were not prepared to experience adult life. When being raised in the education and extracurricular system that tells them that being substandard is rewardable, children will carry that on through their life. Things that may seem harmless—for example, the participation trophy—are detrimental to the development of our youth. We should all be proud of the effort placed into an activity. However, romanticizing the effort and not the achievement is not a positive thing to do. Many will say something along the lines of “It doesn’t matter who won or lost; it matters that we all had fun.” While that is a nice thing to say, losing is in no way shape or form fun. What should be taught is that losing is okay, but that everyone should strive to succeed. Participation trophies are inadvertently teaching kids that less work/losing will still produce fully positive results. This is not the case it the real world. Participation trophies are not needed. Lectures on how to remain resilient, learn, and grow are a must.
ReplyDeleteParticipation awards are not needed when losing because they do not prepare kids for anything that is to come later in life. I believe that when kids get a participation award they will start to expect something every time they lose and they will get disappointed when they don't. Losing at something should not be celebrated. It should be used as a learning experience to try and do better the next time around so that they can succeed. Kids should be taught that it is okay to lose, but they have to work harder to achieve what they want to achieve no matter what age they are. When I play sports, I am more focused on winning than getting an award. Trophies do motivate me more, but only if it's a first place or a winning trophy because the feeling of winning is good enough for me. When kids grow up, they are going to lose a lot and it should push them to want them to succeed, and that won't happen if there are participation awards involved.
ReplyDeleteInitially when I first read this post I believed that children at a young age should receive these participation trophies to symbolize that at least you did something/tried. But as I read on, it became clear that by giving out these trophies it could teach children that they always receive something in return for what they have done, like a consolation prize. Whereas when they grow up it is the complete opposite of that, instead you are sometimes rewarded for the hardwork and dedication you put into what you do. Therefore, I do believe that by giving children these participation trophies it does give them a boost of confidence, but in reality sets them up for disappointment later in life. I also believe that when given the opportunity to earn a trophy it does motivate and affects how hard you try, especially in this era.
ReplyDeleteI believe that participation trophies should never be given out. In my eyes, trophies are reserved for those who win. Being given a trophy for loosing does not make me happy. I remember when I was in 5th grade my baseball team got 2nd place. At the award ceremony, the first place team was given their certificates and then glanced over in less than a minute. The team that hadn't won a single game was lifted up with a bunch of fake trophies that included best dressed, good sportsmanship, and best coach. Kids will learn to just expect trophies for any little thing they do, whether it be learning how to zip up a sweater or getting a sticker for a F on a test. Participation trophies encourage an equal output regardless of input, an idea which I disagree with.
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