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Tatyana Cobbin

Mrs.Pettay

English 112

03 March 2017

There Are No Points For Second Place

Every parent wants their kid to be happy. There is nothing wrong with that. Parents are

among the biggest enablers for the inflation of their childs self-worth. From little league

baseball games to spelling bees, kids are being given trophies for little to no effort, basically for

showing up. When a child grows up, their self-esteem is molded and every little reward or trophy

that they receive is false hope and doesn't allow for them to build a capacity to be resilient to

frustration. Participation trophies are distractions from reality, a distraction to deter children

away from knowing that they didn't do their best. These trophies spoil the child and change their

attitude toward the game or activity that are participating in. Participation trophies should not be

given and society should stick to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies and ribbons for any there after

till 8th place.

Participation trophies shape the childs attitude towards the game or activity they are

participating in. Bruce Ogilvie, author of The Child Athlete: Psychological Implications of

Participation in Sport, argues that the child's attitudes, with regard to the attraction of the

activity and the degree to which the child believes himself to be capable of achieving success at

the activity will determine the value of the activity, to the child. Ogilvie's point is that if a child

knows that they are going to be given a trophy every single game for just showing and not

putting in trophy worthy effort, their level of effort and skill will eventually diminish. As

parents, coaches and as a society as a whole, we are taking away the value of winning and it is
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often said that we have to get over the notion that everyone is a winner in the United States.

Even though these are just participation trophies for sports and activities, it sets a precedent for

children as they grow up. This precedent reminds them that little to no effort still allows you to

be awarded. Therefore as life goes on these children will not be able to handle not being

recognized and there for taking a tole on their self-esteem.

In the longer term, participation trophies ultimately hurts children's self-esteem. If

every child receives a trophy, it will help build their self-esteem by protecting them from

failure?... wrong according to Lorrie Gottlieb, the author of How to Land Your Kid in

Therapy. This argument is generated by the mis understanding of self-esteem. Self-esteem

reflects a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth. Parents,

coaches or any other adults can not give children self-esteem. Furthermore, they can support the

practices that will lead the child to self-esteem and refrain from the actions that undermine their

self-esteem. My discussion of Mrs. Gottlieb journal is in fact addressing the larger matter of

parents involvement and their role in their childs upgrading. The Person who has never

persisted through failure to achieve success has little or no confidence in their own ability,

Brian Tracey. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the childs self-esteem, self-confidence and self-

efficacy. Participation trophies being eliminated will allow the child to fail which gives that child

the chance to learn and in the long run build that childs self-esteem.

Many parents believe that protecting their children from failure will ensure their success

from childhood to adulthood. This statement is far from the truth. Parents should focus on the

efforts of the child and not the end results. When the parent gives the child the freedom to try

they are giving them the desire to try again and again; This is necessary. Parent should not

reward their child or insist on trophies for just showing up or for them just giving little to no
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effort that results in a loss. Instead the parent should ask their child that fails, Did you do your

best? What could you have done differently?. Recognizing and discussing what they did

wrong and how they can approve will make them hungry for success and allow them to work

hard and build their skill level. In sum, the child will will become less soft as discussed by Mr.

Radding in How Participation Are Making Our Kids Soft. To put it bluntly, parents need to

stop rewarding their kids for showing up and start encouraging them to reach their full

potential to earn that trophy.

Participation trophies symbolize something more to some kids. These trophies allow kids

to have a chance to fit in but in the long run fitting in gets them nowhere. According to a

Huffington Post article, by Dr. Grail Gross, children dont want to be perceived as different and

want to be accepted by their peers. If we only reward the winner, only two or three people will

show up to practice but this brings up the point that as parents and coaches we need to emphasis

the concepts of hard work and dedication. These two concepts will stay with them throughout

their childhood and adulthood. Wanting to be accepted does not allow you to rise above the

crowd and stand out as a star player. Childhood is about teaching children the skills needed for

life. Giving participation trophies to everyone that just shows up does not allow them to

actually understand how life works. Winning doesn't happen all the time and failure happens

more frequently than success does but that makes that success way more precious and rewarding.

This symbolism of these trophies should extend far more than being a part of a team but your

effort toward the team.

Participation does not deserve a trophy. When I was younger, I was apart of many

sports including AAU Track & Field and when I received ribbons that had 8th place on it and it

was a reminder that I need to step it up. My mom made me work harder and harder to build my
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skill. Essentially, I am arguing that participation trophies are good jobs not you did amazing

and all your hard work it paying off. We are giving trophies for nothing and sooner or later our

children are going to lose their understand of hard work and start putting in minimal effort. From

childhood to adulthood, their minds are precious and every little thing they learn they will keep

with them for a long time. In the work field, these trophies are setting these kids that will soon be

adults, for failure. Failure concerning the work capacity that is expected of them. Parent

especially should be taking this time to ensure that the core value of hard work and dedication

are instilled in their children . Participation should only be recognized with words and pats on the

back rather than a trophy.

Works Cited
Gottlieb, Lori. "How to Land Your Kid in Therapy." Atlantic, vol. 308,

no. 1, Jul/Aug2011, pp. 64-78. EBSCOhost,

web.a.ebscohost.com.eztcc.vccs.edu:2048/ehost/detail/detail?

vid=4&sid=9313abb2-ea62-4230-bc8d-

c615f3d344e2%40sessionmgr4009&hid=4214&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ

%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=61245444&anchor=AN0061245444-4. Accessed 27 February

2017

Gross, Gail Dr. Why Participation Trophies Are Good for Kids., The Huffington Post,
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www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-gail-gross/why-participation-

trophie_b_9308550.html. Accessed 28 February 2017.

Ogilvie, Bruce. The Child Athlete: Psychological Implications of Participation in Sport.

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 445, 1979, pp.

4758., JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1042954. Accessed 27 February 2017.

Radding, Ben. How Participation Trophies Are Making Our Kids Soft.Mens Journal

www.mensjournal.com/adventure/races-sports/how-participation-trophies-are-making-

our-kids-soft-20150725 Accessed 28 February 2017.