If everyone’s a winner, is anyone really a winner? Participation trophies tells children that you get rewarded for doing things to the best of your ability, even though your best isn’t always enough in society. There have been many studies showing that kids get used to being pampered and will begin to expect to be rewarded for things that don’t deserve being awarded for in the future. In fact, many aspects of learning: in homes, at schools, at work and elsewhere, are evolving rapidly, along with our understanding of learning. I don’t think kids should receive trophies that are just about how they played but might have never won a game and still got the trophy just for being involved, but didn’t contribute anything. Let’s be honest, participation trophies aren’t fooling anybody, including the children who receive them.
When I was young, I knew when I accomplished something amazing and got a reward for it, versus when I was lazy, and didn’t positively add to the team, and got a participation trophy. Some say we shouldn’t get all worked up over participation trophies, because they don’t actually affect a child’s work ethic later on in life, but with my personal tribulations I can definitely testify against that. I started playing football when I was 13 and the majority of my teammates had been playing for basically their whole lives. They clearly had more experience than I did, which led to me playing a lot less than they did. Overall, my team was pretty good but like most teams, we definitely had a few stars who contributed the majority of the team’s success, and at the time, I wasn’t one of them. I remember at the team’s end of the year banquet we all got the same trophies and it was labeled “ENTITLED TO THE MVP.” When I received my trophy I quickly recognized that it held no significant value. I knew I wasn’t the most valuable player of the team, and I didn’t want it because it wasn’t earned. Since then, I’ve progressed a lot and have become better than many those old teammates, partly due to the fact that they became content with being part of a successful team, but just being on the team wasn’t enough for me. I’ve always wanted to actually excel at everything I do. Since then, I’ve received more trophies, but this time they were earned and I felt a lot more accomplished when I received them.
The role of parents and coaches impact the decision on the distribution of participation trophies. It is up to the parents and coaches to decided whether it is appropriate for their child to receive a participation trophy or not, and to also teach them about deserving things, work ethic, and the positive outcome of hard work.
Some parents let their kids have their way by the way of love. While in the process, parents may forget that the youth of today is the future of tomorrow. Parents should allow their children to do things he or she is capable, without extending unnecessary assistance or rewardance. Let the child learn and grow from failure and mistakes. If parents continue to reward their child for unnecessary efforts, it will only deprive the child of numerous opportunities that are crucial for their development, and they will always be in search of a reward. A child learns through difficulties and experiences, and though most parents enjoy seeing their children in happy, we need to let our children develop and grow progressively, independently, and responsibly into well matured adults. NFL linebacker James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers, took to Instagram to let it be known that he is not a fan of participation trophies. He announced that he would be sending back the trophies his sons aged 6 and 8, received “until they earn a real trophy, and not something to shut u up and keep you happy.” A youth football program in north Texas are falling away from the distribution of participation trophies, stating trophies should be earned not given. “Going forward participation medals or trophies will be going away.” Keller Youth Athletics Football board feels that giving participation medals or trophies isn’t sending our children the right message. Life does not give you a participation job or medal, life makes you earn everything you get, children will not recognize this unless it is instilled in them by their parents and coaches.