Participation Backwards

James Harrison, a NFL linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, posted a photo on Instagram with a caption stating, “I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies! While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy. I’m sorry I’m not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I’m not about to raise two boys to be men by making them believe that they are entitled to something just because they tried their best…cause sometimes your best is not enough. . .” Citizens of the United States love the notion that everyone's a winner, but this is a false statement. To learn …show more content…
Organizations spend money carelessly on useless trophies that a child will not be in contact with again. An organization has to pay to get trophies for every child, and most of the time they hand out two trophies to children As a result, more money is spent. Some youth soccer organizations spend as much as twelve percent of their yearly budget on participation trophies alone (http://www.nytimes.com) .These organizations are wasting money on a trophy that means almost nothing to a child. If it does mean something to a child, the organization is creating future problems for that child. Co-author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing Ashley Merryman says, “. . . trophy and award sales are now a $3 billion-a-year industry in the United States and Canada. With all that money spent on trophies, it seems like a shame that someday (sooner or later) they fill the local dump.” (http://lhslance.org/). Many children do not care about the trophies at all, so spending money on something that will just end up in a dump seems like a waste of money and time. All in all , sports organizations are wasting a great amount of money on a useless …show more content…
They say that by awarding them a trophy parents are encouraging young children to come back and try again next year. Even though this notion seems delightful, it is false. A study done by Dale H. Shunk states, “Results show that performance-contingent rewards led to the highest levels of division skill and self efficacy. . . offering awards for participation resulted in no benefits compared to offering no rewards.” ( psycnet.apa.org ). As this study shows, when given a participation award a child did not respond emotionally or physically to it and it equaled to no benefits. On the contrary, when a child was awarded a reward for performance he or she had more benefits; therefore, performance cognitive rewards are more beneficial to a child. The children who didn’t receive a trophy resulted with more passion to try again. In summarization, these trophies do not have any effect on children’s self

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