The Negative Effects Of Competition On Children

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Competition is in every aspect of our life. Competition can be between siblings, between friends, and even in the workplace. It begins really at birth if you think about it. Competition can be seen between the parent and an infant with who can stay awake the longest. As a child I remember always trying to eat all of my dinner before my parents and I never seemed to win. The true definition of competition is “the act or process of competing” whereas competing is “to strive consciously or unconsciously for an objective” (Merriam-Webster). No matter how you look at it, competition drives our motivations and actions in everything we do. In society, there is always a winner and a loser, there is no in between. At a young age, participation trophies …show more content…
They learn what motivates them and how to work through tough situations. In an article by behaviorist and applied scientist, Young K. Kim, it was explained that “through competitive sports, children can learn about physical, social, and cognitive skills” (Kim 191). Competition can be beneficial to the overall development of a child and how they look at future situations. Although competition can help with child development, it can also have detrimental effects on a child which makes this a controversial topic. Kim explained that “competitive sports can be either positive or negative in terms of development, depending on how experiences are perceived by children and how competitions are designed” (Kim 191). How a child learns their competitive nature effects how they develop and in turn look at daily life situations. If a healthy dose of competition is obtained, a child can see nothing but positive effects later in their life. After adolescence, young adults will be more motivated to get work done, will work hard for what they have, and will strive to be the best. In an article by humanities teacher, Hannah Pandel, she states that “competition breeds …show more content…
Studying in human development and applied psychology, Stephen Udvari, looked into the motivation of gifted children. In his article, it was stated that “children did detect their peers’ motivation in competition, and these competitive styles had different implications for peer relationships” (Udvari). A child’s relationship with their peers is a driving force for how they act as well as how they view the world. The competitive nature of children is greatly challenged when looking at relationships because a child may change to fit into the ‘in-group’. In the article children who were “nominated as other-referenced in competitive style [were] considered aggressive and were disliked by the majority peer group, whereas children nominated as task-oriented in competitive style were viewed as pro-social and were well-liked by their peer group” (Udvari). In other words, a child who is other than task-oriented was viewed as controlling and the impact on the child was seen. They were either out casted or overall left out of the ‘in-group’. While a gifted child may focus only on making friendships and fitting in with their peers, parents and other adults push them towards a higher academic ability, further separating them from their peers. In the world of academics, a child who may be gifted is more likely

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