I’m just going to start this article off with the very obvious: sometimes your best is not good enough. I hate to be the person with the unpopular opinion, (I actually don't) but I have to say it. In this wonderful life we are going to run into situations where the best you have to offer isn’t always going to get the job done, and the faster we learn that, the the better off you will be. That brings me into the main point of this article: we have to stop participation trophies. They were a good idea for a little bit but not anymore. They are not helping things, at all.
Participation trophies are a double edged sword. Yes it’s nice to celebrate a child’s accomplishments, but if that child is in last place and is getting lapped by everyone well then they can settle on getting a high five and a pat on the back. I know it may seem harsh, but I can say these things considering I have been that kid (I was really bad at sports, now I’m adequate).
When a kid does a sport, or any competitive activity, they should be taught the love of competing and trying to be the best. Participation trophies in their most basic definition are awards for the minimum. They are congratulations for mediocrity. Before you all grab your pitch forks, set fires, and take to your keyboards to post comments about how terrible this is, just hear me out.
Yes, children deserve some sort of recognition of participating, but that has to end at a good job or a nice little end of the year barbecue. They should be happy that they got to make memories doing something because trophies rust and break. But nobody can take away memories (I know it sounds sappy but it’s the truth). I was the kid who didn’t get a trophy that mattered until I was in 8th grade and that was only because I was on a really good team.
For the first few years playing sports, I used to see the trophy as a useless tool. I mean me and the kid next to me got the same trophy but I worked hard and well he just showed up. Really it’s infuriating because the trophies aren’t that nice (I’m pretty sure they are made of the cheapest plastic available) and everybody just throws them to the side. I know every kid isn’t going to be a MVP, but why is that stopping us from teaching kids to give as much effort as they can?
Ask anyone who has ever seen me run, throw, or do anything that requires some sort of athleticism…it’s not pretty. I was never the MVP because everyone was better than me, however, that’s what inspired me to work. I wanted the bigger trophy because I wanted to be recognized as the best, not just another mediocre kid. That want for the bigger trophy fueled a competitive nature and really taught me the value of hard work and how I would have to work for everything. Isn’t this a huge lesson we should be teaching kids?
I mean people complain about how kids are entitled and expect everything to be handed to them, however can we blame them if we aren’t teaching them to work for things? I know it is tough to swallow but sometimes kids need to be knocked down and have to learn to work harder or smarter. Kids want structure and they want to have a feeling of pride, we owe it to them to let them work for that feeling themselves. Just get rid of those damn trophies and offer them a handshake and a pat on the back.
