Analysis Of Forget Trophies, Let Kids Know It's O. K.

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.

Trophies for all convey an inaccurate and potentially dangerous life message for kids. It would be pointless if every kid got a reward for something they did not work for, and for kids to just come to games and meets to not do anything and get a reward. It is unfair to the kids that deserve it, but as Berden says, “WE are all winners.” This message is repeated at the end of each sports season, year after year, and is only reinforced by the collection of trophies that continue to pile up. “We begin to expect awards and praise for just showing up to class, practice, after school jobs leaving woefully unprepared is a winner as Berden says.”

She argues that kids sign up to be able to be on a team and for the excitement it some with, however, kids fail to see how being in a team is beneficial to their future. Parents should value the commitment and effort kids put into the learning process of the rules, skills and protocols needed to work as a team. Whether a child wins or loses, they learn the importance of commitment and the skills that were needed to help the team out. Although, she mentions that some kids only focus on the attendance rather than the work that is needed to help the team. She quotes Professor Kenneth Barish to support her argument, “The idea of giving trophies only to winners doesn’t emphasize enough the other values that are important… We want kids to participate in sports, to learn to improve their skills, to help others, to work hard and to make a contribution to the team.” She believes that children at an early age value the meaning of a team, that they want to do everything to help each other out, whether everyone works or not. There is an age limit where they start to realize that not everyone put in the effort, but “what matters is showing up for practice, learning rules and rituals of the game and working

In the article “Dangers of an ‘everyone gets a trophy’ culture?” Ashley Merryman interviews thirty seven children to see what they think about participation trophies. One kid, Levey Friedman, said to Ashley Merryman “Well, I kind of purposely played in this esiar one because I knew I would win and now I don’t really count that as a real victory because I went in and I knew it was below my level.” In other words Levey Friedman only played on the lower level sports team to win. One year when I played soccer we only won one out of thirteen games. At the end of the year we got our trophies and awards and now every time I see the soccer trophy it just reminds me of how bad our team was and how bad we did that season. Kids know when a sport is below their level so it's dangerous to think that everyone's a

Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.

Once I had a teammate that would cry every gymnastics competition they went to because they were not awarded for anything passed fourth. Their mom would explain to them that if they worked harder and turned that maudlin feeling into motivation, they would be on the leaderboard. So, she worked harder in the gym and eventually ended up fourth with a beaming smile plastered on her face. This correlates with the controversial discussion of whether kids should be awarded participation trophies. In the passages, “Participation Trophies Send a Dangerous Message” by Betty Berden and “In Youth Sports, Participation Trophies Send a Powerful Message” by Parker Abate, they both discuss juxtaposition sides of the argument whether participants should receive

Children learn the most through trial and error. Ashley Merryman agrees, saying, “It’s through failure and mistakes that we learn the most” (Merryman). As a famous author about child psychology Merryman uses a philosophical position to convey to the audience about the importance of letting children lose to help them grow and become better people. She also states that “we’re teaching kids that losing is so terrible that we can never let it happen” (Merryman). She continues that this destructive message is teaching kids react more towards losing instead of celebrating their success. Also that it is not okay to lose. Kids should know that not receiving participation trophies is okay, and that it helps them do better.

Do we give children too many trophies? According to Bob cook a sports father of four, “when it comes to participation trophies in my experience kids know the score.” Therefore at the end of the day, a trophy for involvement is a gift, and children are aware. Based on the facts and anecdotal evidence we are not giving children too many trophies. These pieces of plastic are a source of memorabilia. In addition, the trophy does not reflect the kid’s attitude towards hard work.

In my essay, I will explain why participating in trophies is not only unnecessary but can also be harmful to their development and understanding of real-world competition. Support 1: The first reason why I believe kids should not get participation trophies is that it builds character. In this generation,

While many writers claim that participation trophies are beneficial, writer Ashley Merryman agrees with the idea that participation trophies are more destructive than beneficial regarding the learning process of a child. The general argument made by Merryman in her work, “Forget Trophies, Let Kids Know It’s O.K. to Lose,” is that providing

“Sending him home empty-handed at the end of a hard-fought season won’t help him learn the lesson of losing, it will teach him early that there’s no value in the attempt” (Zadrozny). Prizes such as trophies and ribbons are a controversial topic in society. Some believe that not enough are handed out to children while others believe that too many are handed out. Trophies are a symbol of victory and triumph, but do not forget that children just want to feel part of a team even though they are not good enough. Putting forth an honest effort is important, and doing well is the habit on which they will be repeatedly evaluated in life. Even though some believe trophies are not good, they give a boost of confidence while keeping children happy and

In light of Jessica Statsky’s book ‘Children need to play, not compete’, she argued that, with the vivid increase of sporting competition lately in the United States, children have been exposed to the adults hard and rigorous training by devoted parents and coaches at their tender age making a game that is supposed to be fun and joy look hectic and strenuous to them due to the standard of training they are made to go through and also the belief that they must always win thereby making them lose the spirit of sportsmanship, and neither gaining satisfaction nor benefiting from them. In as much as sports are good for physical, mental and emotional growth, it should be organized in a manner that the youths will enjoy the game at the end of it rather than the fear of being hurt or defeated by the other competitors.

A new trend across America has risen in sports. Event officials are doling out participation trophies in massive numbers. The question is, are these participation trophies negatively changing the basic American values we treasure in these children? Yes, participation trophies are shaping a new cultural norm of entitlement and it promotes a new attitude of doing nothing, yet still being rewarded for it. This trend must be put to a halt and reversed. Participation trophies are not the answer to making kids feel better about themselves.

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

“Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser,” Vince Lombardi once said. This saying could be the unsung anthem of American sports for children and teenagers. Everyone loves to win. In sports there is always competition. Is there too much emphasis on “the win” for kids and teens? This issue is important because it essentially develops the way children and teenagers think and react; it will affect them later on in life. Too much emphasis on winning is a problem because there is extensive pressure from parents and coaches, and the consequences can be severe.