Argumentative Analysis

Psychologists around the country stress a need for an active life style to develop healthy self-images. Eric Margenau, a psychologist and author, feels that early and frequent exposure to sports is the key to personal growth. Sports introduce children to healthy competition. A child’s failure in competition helps them learn to win gracefully and lose with honor. It teaches youngsters that through perseverance and determination they can win next time. These lessons that children learn will stay with them throughout their lifetime.

The first reason I think kids should play competitive sports is communication. Communication is one major skill you will need in order to get a job, and what is convenient about this is that competitive sports can teach you this life skill. Coaches who mainly focus on communication are teaching youth athletes how to maintain and start relationships such as, family, friends, etc. Communication is mainly (in sports) taught through “games” if you are playing a game such as soccer you will need to communicate with your team members in order to work together.. But communication is not only taught through sports it is also mainly taught through school from working on group projects to something as simple as recess or lunch. LIke I said before understanding communication and how it works is key to getting a job. In a Career Quest article “Why Communication Skills are Essential to Your Future Career” says in a employee survey that communication skills almost

Lately though, these games have lost it’s purpose and the lessons these players could be learning are far from what is transpiring. The emphasis on winning or losing has significantly outweighed what these sports are all about; teamwork and having fun. Alfie Kohn, author of “The Case Against Competition” found a study researched by David Johnson, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and his colleagues. They previewed all the studies they could find on the subject of competition from 1924 to 1980. Sixty-five of the studies found that children learn better when they work cooperatively as opposed to competitively, eight found the reverse. It is proven that you can get the most out of a topic whether it’s school work to sports, you learn the most from working in an atmosphere where they work together not against each other. In addition, children have been enrolled in intense sport training as early as the age of 4, not allowing them to have a chance to really pick what sport they are interested in. A lot of times parents hope to fulfill their dream, by having their offspring due what they never got the chance as a child. This doesn’t give kids the chance to develop and make decisions for themselves when it relates to the sports they want to play. This causes children to not only unhappy but dependent on

Positive Psychological Effects. Along with a child’s physical health, research shows that a child’s psychological well-being will improve through sports as well. An article on Health Fitness Revolution mentions that playing sports heightens the athlete’s morale through the different ways the athlete helps their team (“Top 10 Benefits of Youth Sports”). More specifically, an article on Psychology Today says that a girl who participates in sports generally has a more positive view of her body, even if she doesn’t “conform to society’s very rigid standards of female beauty” (Lindholm). When children feel confident about themselves, they ultimately feel the same about their whole life as well.

Sports can be viewed as a learning environment that helps individuals learn life lessons, foster strong work habits and develop core values all the while learning a sport skill. Youth sports that truly benefit young athletes should be structured to emphasize participation more than just competition. Children enjoy a sport more when they are able to have fun (Humpries). Despite many excesses some sport programs still manage to promote important virtues like self- confidence, teamwork, personal responsibility, coping skills, and persistence. Through sports kids can learn to stay organized and learn how to prioritize (Ferguson). Sports enables development of physical skills and increasing proficiency makes kids feel good about themselves. It teaches kids that failure is something to overcome and and not to fear (Meyerhoff 8-9). Youth sports has many aspects that are truly benefiting for children, but these benefits are slowly being clouded by the negatives that are prominent in today's youth sports.

The most important reason why kids should play competitive sports is that they teach them life lessons. For example, Sarah Davis, the author of “What Are the Benefits of Competitive Sports for Youth?” in her article argues that by playing competitive sports kids will learn life lessons. She claims,“...competitive sports can help kids learn life lessons

Sports teach important life lessons such as teamwork, discipline, leadership and time-management that benefit males and females alike. Women who participate in sports are more likely to have a higher self esteem, positive body image, better physical and mental health and greater educational success. Youth who participate in athletics learn positive social behaviors, have better academic performance and have lower participation rates in destructive decisions such as drugs, alcohol and pregnancy. The number of positive

This proves that playing competitive sports is good for the youth and it can also benefit them by playing on a team. It also gives them a lot of life skills such as confidence that they will use later on in their life when they have a job. Lucy Calkins is an expert in writing and in her article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” she also says that, “Students learn important life skills such as how to accept criticism, how to handle oneself under the pressure of competition, how to work hard toward a goal, how to win and lose graciously” (2014). In addition, to Lucy Calkins article “Get Off That Couch and Play!” that later in life if an adult is at a job interview they will need confidence while they are being interviewed, otherwise they probably won’t get the job. Adults and Children also need to work hard to get towards a goal. Like if someone is at their job and their boss needs something right away, they must get it done and not day dream. In the article “Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at High School Level,” education researcher and writer Grace Chen says, “When children and teens participate in group competitions and activities, they learn skills that

One reason that the competitive sports are beneficial for youth is that it helps to create determination to succeed in life. According to the article

Sports teach life lessons and help you succeed later in life, winning is just a bonus. Youth participating in sports have opportunities to enhance their self-esteem and improve general health and fitness- setting the stage for an active adulthood. Athletics teach dedication and a solid work ethic while also teaching leadership skills. Managing sports and school teaches time efficiency and problem solving skills. Among having fun in sports, they also teach you life lessons that will prove very useful in the future for your job and help you

Although competitive sports can have many negative effects, one positive effect is that you learn many life skills by just doing one thing. According to Kirk Mango, you can learn coping skills, sports help develop character, desire and inner will, determination/preservation, commitment, discipline, sacrifice, priorities, builds a better heart, creating a positive mindset, cooperation, and of course who could forget teamwork. This all is true but in fact you could do this by participating in non competitive activities, although that may be hard to find this is true. Just find friendlier

Within the pro-choice world there are many issues that are discussed like abortion, the instant where life begins and the use of contraceptives. This article will focus on not only the issue of using of contraceptives, but specifically the distribution of oral contraceptives (“the pill”) to teenage girls without their parent’s consent.

One reason that competitive sports are extremely healthy for kids is that study shows that sports teach kids to be leaders, learn to play by the rules and also that it’s okay to make mistakes. For example, when someone starts to play basketball but is totally inexperienced while others are totally experienced, it will teach them to bring their full effort to not fall behind on his/her team. Also in sports it teaches them life lessons that they are going to be using every single day, like how to control emotions, being healthy is important, and many more.

One thing that is a positive outcome in sports is the overflowing happiness people get when they participate in competitive sports. One example is that “children who were involved in sports were more assertive, had greater confidence in their skills and physical appearance, and reported more positive feelings than those who didn’t participate. (Merkal, Donna, Youth sport: positive and negative impact on young athletes, 201, May 31).” If children hold an extreme love for the sport they play, most children use that sport as an escape. Playing sports blows off steam and helps people relax. “Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research ,Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity, 1998).” Playing sports can help bring families or other kids together to build strong bonds. “It appears that US children are healthy and happy as they engage in this traditional pastime, and families report higher levels of satisfaction if their children participate. (Macdonald, Brian, Kids in Sports, Part 5: Can sports help shy kids to make friends?, 2009).” A pat on the back from a parental figure is enough to keep kids going and doing their best. Because sports make children happier, they are more prone to keep playing which all in all makes children happier and it teaches kids to do what makes them happy. With suicide being the second biggest fatality for adolescents doing what makes them happy can be a life or death situation.

Waite and Gallagher also discuss the benefits that marriage gives to couples. Including the financial benefits, in that through specialization and by sharing incomes getting married boosts standard of living by thirty percent and this benefit is not incurred by cohabitating, as those who cohabitate do not share as much and are less committed to the wellbeing of their partner. In addition to the financial benefits, they also discuss the emotional benefits of knowing you have someone who loves you and who would take care of you. Children similarly benefit from having married parents as there are more financial resources available to help take care of them and they get to spend more time with at least one parent.