First place: you win a trophy.

Third place: you win a trophy.

Fifth place: you win a trophy.

In this day in age, everyone’s a winner. There is no competition anymore. Whether people believe it or not, competition is valuable for children to learn.

Competition teaches children lessons they need as they grow older. Everyone isn’t always rewarded in the real word. Children are going to be very surprised when they don’t get praised for showing up late to work.

Participation trophies are given to every participant in many sports. Every child is given the false conception of being a winner. Where did the old first, second and third place trophies go?

What is giving everyone a trophy teaching? It’s teaching everyone they deserve the world. Everyone doesn’t deserve the world. They deserve how much they earn.

If a student practices for five hours every night for three weeks to prepare for the track meet and wins first place, but the student who didn’t practice at all gets a participation trophy that is the same size as the first place trophy, you’re telling both students they are equal. One student obviously worked more and deserves more.

It’s time that this world stops babying children and allows them to participate in true competition.

Now, with my opinion stated, I understand why some adults believe competition is unhealthy for kids. If not taught in the right environment, competition can be very detrimental to children. If adults lead these kids in the right direction while they are first learning about competition, it will only benefit them.

Competition has a negative effect on younger aged people when it is solely focused on winning and being the best. To make sure healthy competition is being taught, parents need to make sure they are encouraging their children to focus on doing the best they can, having fun and learning something new. With this mindset being taught, children don’t feel the pressure to make sure they are always winning. They’re focused on making sure their parents are proud of them, and want to be proud of themselves.

Parents need to remember kids listen to everything they say. Their parents are their role models, they want to be exactly like them.

Now, even if you don’t have a child, any younger kid you are close with looks up to you and that’s something you need to know and acknowledge. Children become competitive when the people they look up to are competitive.

This semester I’ve worked with a first grade class and have learned some very valuable lessons, so I’m going to leave you with what I call my “Five Golden Rules for Competition”:

1. Listen to the child. Let them tell you the bizarre stories when they aren’t interrupting other students from learning. This will let them know that they don’t have to fight to gain your attention.
2. Let the child calm down when they get upset. With competition, if another student answers a question before they get a chance, they will get upset. They need to be told it’s okay and they can try again next time.
3. Make sure the child knows that they aren’t always competing. Have them work with other students just for fun.
4. Get to know the child. Working with a whole class has taught me if you know one child better than another, they are going to get upset. It’s impossible to know every single detail about every student, but you have to make an effort because once one student sees that you know more about another, the competition comes out.
5. The most important one in my mind: love them. Show them you care and are there for them. A child who knows they are loved will be strong and confident, not only competition, but later in life as they grow as well.