Children Need To Play, Not Compete By Jessica Statsky

Summary
The essay “children need to play, not compete” by Jessica Statsky concentrates on the drawbacks of competitive sports played by the children of ages six to twelve. The author explains that the too much competition in such a young age can destroy children’s psychological and physical health. She says that children games when played on the standards set for the adults, cause serious damages. She says that the high hopes of parents and coaches for their children to win can also harm his health. The author had put forth the idea that the benefit of the child should be put first to the desires of parents and coaches. According to the author, the competitive sports are also extremely selective in nature. This filters the children and discourages …show more content…
This idea of always winning is further reinforced by the parents and coaches. Thus, the author rightly says that it is the cause of enforcing great pressure on children. A child might get affected by the high hopes of the parents and the pressure of the coach. The relaxation and the enjoyment that the sports provide is thus lost due to such pressures. I can relate to it as I was discouraged by my parents and my coach when I lost the final football match in school. The only reason to lose the match was the sheer pressure of losing. All I thought about during the match was that I might end up disappointing my …show more content…
I agree to her point although the games like tackle football teach the children to defend themselves, it also forces them to hit each other. This can result in serious injuries. I remember that a lot of children got hit hard during the game and consequently, they became afraid to play again. Sports should not promote this fear in children rather they should be encouraged to play and have fun with their fellows.
The author has rightly said that the purpose of sports is to teach children great skills like teamwork and cooperation with each other. She has effectively proposed that this purpose can be easily fulfilled by rethinking about the already existing sports. Minor changes need to be made to the children sports so that they become less aggressive and more about fun.
As a conclusion, I would say that sports play and important part in the growth of children. I strongly agree with the author that all those elements that make these sports destructive for the mental as well as physical health of the children, need to be amended. Sports should be seen as an opportunity for the children to learn and have fun at the same time. Thus, the focus of sports should be to make it favorable for the health and development of the