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Hurt

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Nowadays competitive natures being raised in adolescents are hurting their futures. Why? What could possibly make something so factual about life be hurting the youth of tomorrow? The answer is simple. Too many parents are turning simple little games, like tee ball, into big competitions. They push and push and push their child to be the "best of the best" and to want to win every game at any cost. The result is the upbringing of adolescents who thinks it's okay to yell and scream when their teams are penalized and who think that winning is everything.

You may be asking, "But shouldn't they be striving to be the best they can be?" Of course! But there's a fine line between them wanting to be the best and them fighting tooth and nail to be the best. We all want our kids to be the smartest. To be the best at every sport, but there's a limit to their abilities. Too often could you go to a simple baseball game for junior high kids and see parents spitting off insults to the referees and umpires because of "unfairness" in the game. Too often could you overhear a parent telling their child that they are "smarter than a B" on a test or quiz.

Sure there are legit justifications for such actions, but continually telling our kids that they are better than what they've done tells them that they aren't good enough. That they need to find other ways, sleazy ways to get to the top if it is beyond their natural means to do so. It seems like so many parents forget that their children, no matter how bright they were at one time or still may be, are human. And humans make mistakes. Humans have faults. Ever more true for kids.

By pushing kids to always be the best and be at the top they don't learn about losing. They don't learn that they can't have it all the time. They become accustomed to always being the best. Now, if someday in the future they end up making a mistake that causes them the World Series or a huge promotion, they fight dirty to try and get it. Steroids, blackmail, all that stuff. They don't know that it's okay to lose every now and then. That it's just another part of life.

I myself, as an adult, find it hard to take a loss. Be it in a video game or on a college exam. Why? Because I was pushed to be better than my capabilities. I had this bar set for me that I constantly had to jump over to prove myself. I get disappointed when I'm not the best at something. I say to myself, "You can do better than that! What was that?" And now that I have a son of my own I can only hope that I raise him to know that doing the best that you possibly can, even if you don't become the best and brightest, is the greatest victory you can ever take with you. Taking pride in whatever you do, even when you lose can be the greatest joy you'll ever know.

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