Two Words That Could Hurt Your Kids: Nice Job By Chris Weller

Participation trophies send a dangerous message. I have many trophies,but i worked hard for these trophies. Everyone on my team deserves my team. For the people who think giving out the same award at the end of the year to all the children; i am  sorry to inform you that your hurting the child more than not giving the child the trophy at all. Children need to know the importance of working hard than someone else. In life you do not make the same amount as your boss makes just because you show up on time everyday. Why would the kids who just show up to practice everyday vs the kids the more elite kids get the same reward. Life does not work like that.

In “Losing is Good for You,” Ashley Merryman argues that society should stop handing out trophies for participation and instead let your child loose sometimes. Merryman states, “today, participation trophies and prizes are almost a given, as children are constantly assured that they are winners.” She later goes on and says that children who are given so much praise will crack “at the first experience of difficulty.” In her opinion, she does not believe that every child should be given a trophy because it will affect how they handle a different task. She claims that children would be better off losing than winning, and she also think that children should not get a trophy for everything they compete in.

In “Losing is Good for You”, Ashley Merryman instills the idea that society celebrates the essence of success that children achieve in any aspect of their life whether they deserve it or not. Merryman further explains that by celebrating success or, more importantly, the idea that every child is a winner, society takes away the fundamental ideas of hard work. Merryman states that as society limits the opportunity for children to experience failure, this leads to the destruction of the core beliefs of what is the true meaning of winning is and undermines overall determination, and it lowers the desire for children to work hard.

Participation trophies are changing kids ideas of winning around the globe in many ways. First off, it gives children the wrong impression on working or putting an effort towards something. Trophies are something you should have to earn. Life doesn’t give you a participation medal, you have to earn it (Website #2). Kids just need to learn that

I just recently had the opportunity to read the magazine article from The Atlantic titled “The Overprotected Kid” by Hanna Rosin. This article constantly critiques and bashes society along with the parenting styles of today. I agree with Rosin that parents are too protective over their children because parents today are holding back their children and are preventing them from many experiences. Fortunately, my parents were not part of this trend, allowing me to explore and learn from my own experiences and mistakes. Playgrounds are becoming to a point that is almost too safe and children are taking less risks. Playgrounds and parents are not allowing kids to learn on their own and experience life while taking risks.

I understand that kids need to have some type of recognition for at least participating in an activity rather than not being involved. Yet I do not believe that handing out participation trophies to

Participation trophies can vary from sports to clubs to activities of any type. Many people believe these standard awards provide many benefits for children and their childhood growth. However, children today have become accustomed to receiving an item or prize regardless the outcome of their effort, which could potentially send an unhealthy message about achievement and diminish the value of the award.

Merryman voices “A recent study found if parents thought failure was debilitating, their kids adopted that perspective” (Merryman). It is the parent’s job to teach their children how to accept participation awards correctly. That losing is not that bad. Merryman goes on saying “If parents believed overcoming failure and mistakes make you stronger, then their children believed it, too” (Merryman). That statement pressures the idea that whatever the parent’s opinion on the matter is transferred to the kid. That kid will go on to work harder and not need the participation trophies to be an objective. The success of the children depends on the

Participation trophies give children the unrealistic expectation that attendance matters more than hard work and effort. This is shown by the current generation known as the Millenials; the Millenials are the individuals born from the period 1985 to present day. This generation is known for over praising children, and the result

Finally, kids that are given participation trophies are given the wrong idea. Fifty-seven percent of people said "only winners" deserve to have participation trophies, giving out participation trophies is tantamount to giving kids the wrong praise, and giving kids with bad attitudes and not a care in the world is not a good idea. These kids need to realize that they need

A child decides to join a tee-ball team. During the season, he sits on the ground and picks grass in the outfield. At the end of the season, this child gets an award: best flower picker! Some may say that this child just needed some self-esteem to help him get along. In reality, this child got a reward for doing nothing, even for not doing what he was supposed to. When children, such as this one, receive pointless awards, they assume all rewards come with no effort put in, they expect everything in life to come easily, and they don’t learn how to work diligently to earn rewards.

Elementary students who participate in group sports often receive participation awards at the end of the sports season. James Harrison posted on twitter that he felt participation trophies were wrong, because the child did not actually achieve anything. This post has caused a major controversy across the United States. Some parents agree with Harrison and say that participation trophies create a false sense of achievement, which stops their child from trying hard later on. I, however, disagree. Participation awards help kids feel like they had a part in an activity, reward children from their effort, and can help them strive for success.

That is what I think the participation trophies are doing to kids. When I was a kid my dad was always my coach during sports and if we were ever given those trophies he would tell the people that we did not want them. Maybe some kids so not understand the meaning of them but on my team we all did. “Giving everyone a trophy will not prepare them for the real world.” - Ashley Merryman, the co-author of “Nature Shock: New Thinking About Children.” I agree with her 100%. When kids do not try hard in the real world, they will most likely be fired from their job. If they are just given trophies they will not learn that sometimes they have to do more than just show up. There was an Olympic Gold Medalist say “losing was the best thing that ever happened to them, because it made them want to work harder.” Now I do not know who it was that said that but it makes complete sense.There has been some conversation about Kevin Durant just trying to find an easy way to get a trophy. In 2016, Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder and went and played for the best team in the league the Golden State Warriors. I think that is exactly what he did, he did not earn that trophy. Everyone hated what he did because the Warriors beat the Thunder the year before in the playoffs. Earning the trophy is the best feeling ever. When I was a kid when my team would not win a game, it made us want to come out the next game and try even

Participation trophies have created many issues on the effects it causes a child in the future. The issues relate to wanting the child to have a nice life, but also wanting them to learn the values and morals that are needed to succeed in this world. In both essays, they want the child to have everything they never had, but most importantly to obtain the grits and tools that will allow them be successful and independent. Participation trophies have caused two major controversies between wanting to teach a child about success and failure to make them work hard, or teaching them about self-esteem and commitment to allow them to work as a team with skills and protocols.

society with those of the 21st Century to highlight the extreme involvement of parents in