Let's set the scene: You and some friends create a team and join a soccer league. You are pumped for the new season, happy just to play this sport with some friends. Then you get an email from your coach. In it, he says that the team is spectacular but that the team can't play. He explains that your team was turned down because they had used up the budget for teams already. You are devastated. Later on, you hear that your team and a few others were rejected because they had put money that could have let all the teams play towards participation awards. How do you think you would feel? I can assure you that this is not an isolated incident. Where participation awards are concerned, most child psychologists agree that they do more harm than good;
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John O’Sullivan author of the article: The Great Trophy Debate: Do we Need Participation Awards makes an excellent point: “We do not reward kids for making it to all the practices and games. We do not award them for making a great effort or improving their skills. We reward them for having a parent capable of registering them for the sport. There is no minimum required commitment; as long as they show up on the last day when the awards are being doled out, they get one. It’s an award for being registered and nothing else, and after the initial excitement, it takes its place on a kids shelf collecting dust.” When all kids receive a trophy, it lowers the bar; and for what? So kids can have their 5 minutes of happiness? Then after that, it just sits there collecting dust until it is eventually thrown away. Is it worth it to the kids who try and succeed? They want to feel special because they did something not because they showed up. But some people don’t care that the bar is lowered as long as the kids feel special. But, then you’re sending the message that you don't care about improvement or effort. You just always want them to be a winner. Participation trophies set the bar lower to make more kids feel special which sends a dangerous message which hurts them in the long run rather than helps
John O’Sullivan author of the article: The Great Trophy Debate: Do we Need Participation Awards makes an excellent point: “We do not reward kids for making it to all the practices and games. We do not award them for making a great effort or improving their skills. We reward them for having a parent capable of registering them for the sport. There is no minimum required commitment; as long as they show up on the last day when the awards are being doled out, they get one. It’s an award for being registered and nothing else, and after the initial excitement, it takes its place on a kids shelf collecting dust.” When all kids receive a trophy, it lowers the bar; and for what? So kids can have their 5 minutes of happiness? Then after that, it just sits there collecting dust until it is eventually thrown away. Is it worth it to the kids who try and succeed? They want to feel special because they did something not because they showed up. But some people don’t care that the bar is lowered as long as the kids feel special. But, then you’re sending the message that you don't care about improvement or effort. You just always want them to be a winner. Participation trophies set the bar lower to make more kids feel special which sends a dangerous message which hurts them in the long run rather than helps