As this year's school sports day is approaching, it has made me realise how much our society has changed in the past few years.

Sports day, from what I remember and cherish, was a day when you got to be out on the fields in the sunshine, having fun with your friends, and having your parents come to see you triumph, in some shape or form, on the playing fields. For me it was a brief moment of glory once a year.

When I was younger I wasn't the most academic child in the class. I was one of those average children that worked hard and did what they had to do, but never really excelled academically. I got good grades, but I had to work so hard and often struggled. However, I felt like I was a star on the sports field. That was my passion and the one thing I was really good at.

I used to count the weeks and days until the annual sports day as this is when I got my one chance to shine. It was the one day a year which I craved and longed for. I got to show my classmates, my teacher and my parents that I was really great at something. This was the most important thing for me as an 8 year old and those days gave me so much confidence in myself.

Now, I am the mother of two fantastic boys. I have watched them grow and develop into happy confident little people and I am so proud of them. However over recent years I have been a little shocked about the way simple things like sports days are being addressed by our educational system.

My children do have a sports day at school, however, because of the pc' world we live in all races and events are completed as teams. This way there are no losers - everyone wins. In one respect, this ideal is fantastic as it encourages communication, sharing, expressing ideas to groups, respect for others, encouragement and working together to achieve a common goal. I wish life was like this, but unfortunately it isn't and it makes me wonder if we are missing out on teaching our children a valuable life lesson here - that we, as individuals, don't always win.

At school, our children are taught to work in groups and are continually learning to develop and enhance those communication skills on a daily basis through their project work and interaction with their class mates. This philosophy also continues in their after school clubs and sports activities. However, I don't feel that they are being prepared for the times when they, as individuals, maybe don't do so well.

As we all know and understand, in life there are things which we win and things which we loose. This is how we shape ourselves as people and how we accept and deal with various situations in our lives. For example, we might not get that promotion we wanted, we might miss out on buying that dream apartment because someone placed a higher bid, we might not win that pitch or get that contract, but it's OK. We can try again, learn from our experiences and try a different approach next time.

Also, I do think about those children who, like me when I was 8, no longer get that one day to show their special skill to every one. That's one thing that I also think should be encouraged as I know how important this is to prepare you for the highly competitive world that we live in. Sometimes, I think it's best to leave these little traditions, such as sports days, the way that they were.

Learn more about this author, Kerrie Maxwell.
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