There is a heated debate that always ensues when you raise this question. There are always two sides, with both providing compelling arguments, and it’s usually hard to get a clear winner. It’s more or less the same argument of kids graduating from preschool.
When it comes to sports, the real-world sports, only winners get to lift the trophy. So, why is the culture of participation trophies taking over? On the other hand, do the participation trophies motivate hard work? Let’s break down what is what where participation trophies are involved.
Cons of Participation Trophies
There’s a rap song by Nas that encourages kids to be what they want to be. But there’s a catch; they have to work hard at it. With a participation trophy, the child can be drawn to a fall sense of achievement. In essence, the child may feel like a winner when they have hardly won anything. It pretty much creates a culture where the child doesn’t know how to lose. This culture is somewhat why there are a number of entitled kids in this world.
When you lose, you know how to deal with it when you see the winner celebrating. You don’t have the sense of entitlement that you have to get something when you learn how to lose. It even makes your wins more special.
One sports Psychologist, Dan Gould, stated that they need to be earned for rewards to work. By getting that trophy, the child will not have learned the value of work. There’s no motivation to put in the effort if you’re equally rewarded with an award.
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Pro Participation Trophies
The fiercest defenders of participation trophies say that it bodes well with the child psychology when they receive a participation trophy. They claim that the child is rewarded for their effort and having a value in showing up. Another thing that the award teaches the child is the importance of being reliable. In fact, a psychology professor stated that giving only the winners trophies doesn’t teach important values. The idea is that taking part in a sport doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be the best of the best at it.
Essentially taking part is about learning and developing social skills. It also teaches the child how to work within a team and the importance of having a lifestyle – an active one. Giving the child a token for their efforts is a reward for hard work and good times.
Rewarding kids for their efforts, no matter how small, can go a long way in their adult life. If you played sports, then you know how exciting it was to get a trophy, be it something manufactured locally, or one of those gorgeous Australian designed trophies and awards. Being the recipient of any one of those tends to have a positive effect on their overall development. The child will also learn the importance of trying out new things.
To Award Or Not Award
There’s no denying that there are strong arguments on both sides of the divide where participation trophies are concerned. But as it stands, there isn’t much evidence to prove that participation trophies are suitable for kids’ development. With an earned award, the child is likely to remember how hard they fought for it and how they wanted it more than the others.
