Pros And Cons Of Trophys

In today’s society most children that participate in a sport get a trophy no matter what. There are many arguments for and against this idea. Some believe that this idea preserves the child’s confidence, while others believe it sets them up for failure. Much of the evidence for each case has strong scientific support behind it. In a poll, the votes for only winners get trophies go up as the ages of the pollers go up. The votes for all kids and only winners even out the younger the poller is. For example, when a group of 65 year olds and older were polled, 70% voted for only winners getting while only 30% voted for everyone. In the same study, when a group of 18-24 year olds were polled, 52% voted for everyone and 48% voted for only winners getting trophies. Although, there is nothing more detrimental to a child than being given a trophy for everything they do.

If a child gets a trophy for everything they do, it will cause them to think they don’t have to work for anything. A child’s work ethic starts at a young age. Work ethic develops through a
This is simply not the case. In reality, giving a trophy to everyone who participates actually makes the kids feel bad. These kids are in an activity for the fun of it. They are developing a competitive edge and want to do their best. When they lose they know they tried their best, but when they are given a trophy they feel like they don’t deserve it. This in turn makes them feel guilty. Merryman in her New York Times article states, “In recent eye-tracking experiments by the researchers Bradley Morris and Shannon Zentall, kids were asked to draw pictures. Those who heard praise suggesting they had an innate talent were then twice as fixated on mistakes they’d made in their pictures.” These children didn’t feel better after being praised, they actually felt worse and were more self