My head is swimming with so many things that have changed in our society, some for the better and some that are just plain crazy in my opinion.
One of these changes is the idea of giving every child on the team or in the classroom a trophy just for showing up. What incentive does that child have for doing his best? There isn’t any!
The enthusiasm and excitement doesn’t exist if a child knows he or she will get the ribbon, the trophy or whatever is being used as “gifts” just for showing up.
Children should learn about competition and being rewarded for their efforts. They should know that not everything is life is fair and working hard reaps benefits . . . most of the time. At the same time, it’s not far for the child is the best at what he does to get the same recognition as the others.
The athletes who participate in the Olympics are a great example of hard work and dedication. Not everyone wins the gold, and they accept that going in to the games. They have hopes and dreams and the confidence and endurance that come from their training. Can you imagine everyone getting a gold medal just for showing up?
Many young adults have that feeling of entitlement and it will only get worse if things that are not earned are given to them. No one, as far as I know, gets a raise or promotion for showing up at their job.
It’s time for parents to raise their children with a sense of reality, not fantasy.
Amen to that, Nancy! I’m seeing the effects of the “participation trophy” in my college students.
Last week, the local news spotlighted a valley high school soccer league in which students will no longer go through the post-game tradition of lining up to pay respect to the game officials. Why not? For the SAFETY of the officials! I kid you not. Their students were showing NO respect…they yanked on their whistles, shoved them, verbally abused them, etc. Upon interviewing a soccer mom, she responded that well, they’ve done the line-up thing for a while, and after some time that tradition will no longer even be remembered, so it’s probably okay to just drop it. It’s OKAY that their kids treat the officials so badly they feared for their safety? Talk about missing the point! Every team parent should have been grounding their kid if they did such a thing or failed to report an incident to their coach. Oh, I forgot–their precious offspring might be a famous soccer star someday and buy them a huge estate. More likely, with this behavior pattern catered to, even if they DO “make it,” they’ll feel so entitled they can get away with murder. And some athletes do.
Diana,
Today the majority of kids have no respect for anyone, not even their parents. The parents could grow old and gray waiting for a huge estate that will never be given to them. We are living in the “entitlement era.” Wonder if our parents said that about us!!