When trophies are handed out to kids just because they participate in an event, they learn the bare minimum is acceptable.
Little leagues, city teams and volunteer events often award participation trophies, but handing out awards regardless of the amount of work each child puts into the event can hinder him or her from a young age.
The definition of a trophy is “something gained or given in victory or conquest especially when preserved or mounted as a memorial,” according to Merriam-Webster.
The literal definition describes an award as something gained in a victory, something kids can’t comprehend if they’re taught they automatically get a prize just for participating.
They’re getting rewarded for mediocrity, so are we creating a generation of inadequate kids?
“Participation trophies don’t adequately prepare children to face the challenges and disappointments of our harsh world,” according to a Feb. 22, 2019 article by Big Think, a website that discusses life lessons. “The result is an entire generation of enfeebled adults who are unable to function or achieve.”
Along with giving kids the wrong impression of how life will treat them, it also sets them up for failure because they’ll never learn what hard work means. It can also leave them feeling entitled and lack a sense of self-awareness.
“It artificially raises pseudo-self esteem. The trophy actually takes away the motivation to improve . . . it keeps kids from feeling frustration and experiencing failure,” according to an August 2015 blog published on Character Development and Leadership, a website for evidence-based education methods.
Failure and hardships are good for character development, no matter how unpleasant the moment might seem. Adversity helps kids build a thicker skin that’s needed to ease the world’s harsh realities.
Everything kids experience shapes them into who they’ll be as adults, so just handing out rewards is counterproductive.
Sure, the argument can be made that participation trophies are beneficial.
“The best defense of participation trophies is the evidence in child psychology that reveals the overwhelming benefits of positive reinforcement, especially in younger children,” according to K2 Awards, America’s No. 1 trophy website. However, that is not enough to outweigh how it ultimately hinders children.
Participation trophies let children imagine unrealistic life expectations and allows them to believe a false sense of reality where they win in every competition, when that’s not the case.
“If there is one overriding perception of the millennial generation, it’s that these young people have great – and sometimes outlandish – expectations,” according to an Oct. 21, 2008 Wall Street Journal article. “Employers realize the millennials are their future workforce, but they are concerned about this generation’s desire to shape their jobs to fit their lives rather than adapt their lives to the workplace.”
Participation trophies affect how kids perceive the world. Instead of hindering your child, be truthful if they’re not the best at a particular sport or activity.
