Pros And Cons Of Participation Trophies

Alex P. Doxsee
Mr. Masih
English 10 Lyceum
19 March 2016
Should Participation Trophies Stay or Should they go? Most people think that those little participation trophies that we get as children were great but, were they really something much worse in disguise? “It’s child abuse to give a kid a trophy that he has not earned. If a parent’s responsibility is to teach a kid how to deal with the real world, then that is child abuse. Because that’s not the real world” (Vance). Whereas many parents and experts believe participation trophies can be beneficial to a child’s morale, other experts argue that the bequeathment of participation trophies to children induces the thoughts of a facile life, causing them to become narcissistic in nature,

“Participation trophies tell them that what matters is showing up for practice, learning the rules and rituals of the game and working hard” (Heffernan). While these are great points, some children don't always show up and other children don't always work hard, yet they still get the trophy. There are some children though who do follow the rules and do show up whenever they can. These children should be rewarded for their hard work and dedication to the team. "The idea of giving trophies only to the winners doesn't emphasize enough of the other values that are important. Everyone wants kids to participate in sports, to learn to improve their skills, to help others, to work hard and make a contribution to the team" (qtd. in Heffernan).There is more to life than just winning and children should be rewarded for learning these values, yet they shouldn’t get massive trophies; a nice plaque, medal, or words of encouragement

The journal of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a study which examined 565 children ages 7 to 12. This found that too much praise can turn children into egotistic adults. 565 children is a vast pool of data; for them to conclude that too much praise isn’t good proves the point that the ovation of children, such as giving them a massive amount of participation trophies, can lead them towards narcissism. “You may love your child to pieces and want to praise everything they do, but this is setting your child up for failure because the world won't continue to give this to your kid just because you did,” states Daryl Cioffi, the co-owner and clinician at well-being treatment center Polaris Counseling & Consulting. Instead, “be careful with your praise,” (qtd. in Hill). If children get used to this praise that is given to them for just participating, they could get lost, confused, or frustrated when they grow up and don't receive the same thing from their peers. “A study earlier this year found that children whose parents overvalued them were more likely to develop narcissistic traits, such as superiority and entitlement -- two qualities that aren't necessarily going to benefit our kids when the going gets rough” (Wallace). The traits of superiority and entitlement could end up producing confrontations for children later on when they meet people