Participation Trophies Research Paper

Every year my sons would participate in various sports: soccer, basketball, baseball, and football. At the end of each season, they would get a trophy, even though their team didn’t win. These trophies have been labeled “participation trophies” and one was given to every team member. I didn’t understand this concept. When I was growing up, trophies were rare; only the winning teams were awarded trophies. Since when is merely showing up and participating considered winning a competition? Is such minimum effort an achievement? If children know they are going to receive an award regardless of their performance, there is no reason for them to work hard. Because participation trophies are doled out with such regularity, we are creating a society of entitled young people who think the world owes them.

Trophies should be difficult to attain, similar to coveted positions in top companies. Childhood activities and their reward system should not only build self-esteem and confidence, they should build a competitive nature; the desire to excel. Constantly rewarding children for their elemental abilities is neither providing them the skills to deal with difficulties, nor is it teaching them how to embrace challenge. Continuous praise without constructive criticism does not prepare them to face disappointment or handle tough circumstances in life or how to adapt and overcome. We are not instilling the importance of applying themselves to strive for what they want in life. They are under the assumption that they can just show up and attain success. Success comes from failure. We have to learn to accept failure and have the tenacity to carry