Imagine you are participating in a “contest” in elementary school. You have to race the whole length of the field and the first three children across the finish line win a new toy. However, the other children win these participation medals and are told that they tried their best. Now, would you be more willing to work harder at being faster given a medal or being told that the only way they can earn something is to win?

When we play sports as children or even towards high school, we tend to give participation trophies out. It is basically stating, “Good job” for absolutely nothing. I know I will get plenty of hate for this article, but it is the truth.

Why are we giving medals out to people who come in last? Is it to make them feel more inclusive as a society? I feel it is more damaging to do so than to not do it.

Although this can be a “sense of achievement,” I believe it dilutes the bigger achievements. We can say that we won a participation medal in a sport and then never play that sport again. What if we say that we were last in that same sport in elementary school? A few years down the road, we are participating in a state for that same event because we took the sense of hard work and instilled it. There is a reason that I will not give participation medals to my children. What happens if they achieve something great? They will not feel like it is a big deal because there is no “reward” since they always were given trophies.

One of my biggest arguments that participation medals are harmful is the fact that it damages their sense of expectations. We are a society that feels entitled and that we deserve everything. For example, when children go to the park with toys, other children automatically assume that they can play with their toys. “Sharing is caring.” That is not how it works. We need to show children that they need to earn that toy through hard work and dedication. If my children earn the toys through completing chores or acquiring good grades, then they will be rewarded.

Why reward something that does not need to be rewarded? What is the sense of that?

Think about how the adult world works. Are we given consolation prizes just because we tried our best? Do we have an “Employee of the Month” and “Consolation Employees of the Month?” No, we don’t. We have one employee who has earned that reward for the fact that they worked hard and were able to prove that they are capable of doing their jobs. Why are we giving consolation prizes at younger ages? We are just setting children up for the possible disappointment that they are not going to earn that consolation prize. This only makes children realize that life isn’t how they were taught, and this could lead to depression.

We all have heard the story of the tortoise and the rabbit. The two are racing and the rabbit is trying to take shortcuts in order to win. However, he doesn’t, and the tortoise ends up winning the race. Life is not full of shortcuts! We do not want to belittle the sense of hard work for children.

Don’t give out participation medals just because to make a child feel “better.” Teach them the sense of hard work and dedication in order for them to achieve their goals! Don’t increase the sense of entitlement in this society.