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| Help | 81% | 972 votes | Total: 1204 votes | |
| Hurt | 19% | 232 votes |
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Add to FavoritesChildren and Competition.
Competit iveness, whether we are aware of it or not surrounds our everyday lives. It is abundant at home, on the street, in shopping centers, at work, at school and just about every other place where people gather. We compete for parking spaces, jobs, grades, friends, and products. We compete against the weather, against time and against odds. We like hearing that prices are competitive; we enjoy watching others compete even if only for bragging rights. Competition drives us to move faster, think harder and dig deeper. It forces businesses to provide better services, offer lower prices or pay higher wages. It nurtures the imagination and leads us to be more creative than the next person. In short, it keeps us on our toes.
When we think about competitiveness we often think about sports, a timeless activity which is enjoyed by those of any age. From Roman gladiators fighting until death to racing cars at speeds of over 150mph towards a checkered flag, the thrill of competition is without a doubt, in our blood. The glory of the Olympics should be proof enough of how much the world loves to compete.
From a young age our parents have taught us to be competitive. Sometimes subtly, sometimes not so subtly our parents have shown us the joy of winning and the sorrow of losing. Our schools then continued promoting competitiveness through games and activities in the classroom, in the gym and on the playground. Many parents also enroll their children in after-school activities, most being competitive in nature.
Competitive activities are a great way to form new friendships, get exercise, learn a new skill and build self-confidence, but a friendly competition can quickly turn ugly if intruded upon by an overaggressive coach, parent or participant. Parents and coaches alike often impress upon children the importance of winning the game rather than having a winning attitude, which is counterproductive when trying to raise a happy, healthy child that will grow into a mature, productive member of society. If a child is taught to win no matter what the cost, that theme will eventually trickle over into other areas of their life. The benefits of competition then become skewed and misrepresented.
Compe titiveness can become a problem if either the participant or an outsider is pushing to the point of injury, be it mental or physical. If a child is forced to compete beyond their own comfort level it can leave the child with feelings of desperation, fear, anxiety, frustration, jealousy and anger, which can then evolve into actions such as cheating, violence and more. The child may push her/himself beyond their ability causing physical injury possibly resulting in permanent damage.
Whether child or adult, those in competitive activities need to be aware of what or who is the driving force behind them. Who is in control? The participant should be clear and speak out about how they feel, especially if they are uncomfortable with the amount of mental or physical stress placed upon them.
To live in society, it is important to be somewhat competitive but we also need to know when to quit, which unfortunately is easier for some than for others.
Adults can encourage children to be competitive but they should always ask the child how they feel about the activity and help them to set a goal for themselves that they are comfortable with. Surprisingly, some children seem to enjoy pushing themselves beyond their limits and building up their performance and skill, however this is not typical and most children just want to have fun.
While competition is necessary in many aspects of life and the benefits greatly outweigh the risks, we must remember to keep our intentions honest and our expectations reasonable. This way our children can reap the rewards of competition even if they lose the game.
Learn more about this author, Jessica Shayne.
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Hurt
Competition hurts young people for a vast array of reasons. Our parents, teachers and even peers sets goals for us that, even though may be reachable at times, they aren't always attainable. It can create hate, envy and jealousy between the best of friends and it can set young people up for failure.
Competition has done nothing but hurt everyone since the beginning of man kind. It always seems to start out friendly and we may have good intentions, but the human element of envy takes over and as fallible humans most times we can not control it. Sure it is great to challenge ourselves to become better, but when we post ourselves against others we always set ourselves up for faliure. There is always the chance we may lose. It doesn't always matter what kind of skill we have or if our opponents skill is less than ours. Sometimes the luck of the draw determines the out come and it can make us feel inferior when we lose. It is evident in sports today that we competition ends up being the most imortant thing in an athletes lives and it creates arrogances and egotism among most athletes. Of course there are always exceptions, but not enough to make a difference for the good.
Children are a different subject altogether. Children are easily influenced by the experiences they encounter throughout their youth and it makes a larger impression on who they become later in their lives. Children are weighed down the pressures of lacking self confidence and insecurities in the first place so it is even worse on them when they have to endure the trials of competition.
Most people will make the excuse or argument that it makes them stonger and helps them learn how to be good at what they do later in life, misleading them to believe that life is all about competition. What a horrible thing to teach children. Life will only be about competition if we make it so. We have to change our thinking and use logical pragmatic reasoning to get through life and not make everything a competition. You can challenge yourself in life without making a race or game of it. Sure you should set high goals for your self, btu you should also set lower goals in case you do fail.
We should teach children that it is alright to fail. We should teach them that if they fail they should get right back up and dust themselves off and try again. We should teach them that if they fail that there are always other options and paths they can take. Competition does nothing for children, but teach them that it is alright to try to be better than everyone else and if they aren't then they are nothing. Competition would be ok if it wasn't for the human element and we can never take the human element away.
Learn more about this author, Lateralus.
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