{"id":3998,"date":"2015-09-28T20:30:50","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T01:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/?p=3998"},"modified":"2021-02-09T21:57:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T05:57:11","slug":"sprinkles-are-for-winners-the-participation-trophy-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/sprinkles-are-for-winners-the-participation-trophy-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Participation Trophy Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Over the last couple of decades, we&#8217;ve seen the emergence of a modern\u00a0trend that emphasizes positive reinforcement in sports. The result? Kids in many activities have begun\u00a0bringing\u00a0home awards, trophies and ribbons simply for participating in an activity or on a team. Is rewarding a child for simply showing up sending the wrong message &#8212; or is it a team-building and esteem-building tool?<\/h2>\n<h4>By Jillian Chamberlain<\/h4>\n<p>The great Participation Trophy Debate\u00a0received renewed attention\u00a0last month when James Harrison, a professional NFL player for the Pittsburg Steelers, posted a photo on his Instagram account stating that he was going to have his two sons return the participation trophies that they had received. Harrison had the following to say in his Instagram comment:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"4\">\n<div style="\&quot;padding:" 8px;\">\n<div style="\&quot;background:" #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href="\&quot;https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/6aXCJ2JFi5\/\&quot;" target=\"_top\" rel=\"noopener\">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&#8217;m sorry I&#8217;m not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned and I&#8217;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&#8230;cause sometimes your best is not enough, and that should drive you to want to do better&#8230;not cry and whine until somebody gives you something to shut u up and keep you happy. #harrisonfamilyvalues<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A photo posted by James Harrison (@jhharrison92) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2015-08-15T17:09:24+00:00\">Aug 15, 2015 at 10:09am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script src="\&quot;\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\&quot;" async=\"\" defer=\"defer\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The post garnered scorn from trophy supporters, who argue that participation trophies remind young kids that they are part of something, and they may help build enthusiasm so the kids will\u00a0return for another season. The trophies, some feel, are along the lines of the team T-shirt and car magnet &#8212; a pleasant reminder (especially during the off-season) of time well-spent.<\/p>\n<p>Others argue that\u00a0there are different ways of accomplishing camaraderie, while still awarding only\u00a0excellence or unique achievements like, say, most improved player. Team pizza parties and post-game gatherings can be\u00a0held to honor the team for their collective accomplishment. Such\u00a0gatherings remind kids that their effort is valued, regardless of ability or results.<\/p>\n<p>Rewarding children for for their participation and effort certainly is important &#8212; just think how you&#8217;d feel if your boss didn&#8217;t care whether or not you showed up to work or, worse, how hard you tried to do well at your job. But should everyone get an actual trophy? Or should certain awards be reserved only for those who are exceptional?\u00a0Or are physical trophies and awards not necessary (or desirable) at all?<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, many coaches, instructors and teachers have strong opinions on the subject. And many parents take matters into their own hands, as Harrison did, if they disagree.<\/p>\n<p>One thing, though, that almost everyone\u00a0can agree on &#8212;\u00a0kids deserve\u00a0to stretch their legs and their minds, to enjoy more friend-time and less screen-time, and to\u00a0find a\u00a0fun\u00a0activity or two to\u00a0rejuvenate them.\u00a0Help your child find a class or activity that they are passionate about:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/?aht_cam=blog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check out the thousands of activity listings that we have in your area!\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0If you like, you can give yourself a gold star for checking us out &#8212; or not. It&#8217;s really up to you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is a Participation Trophy a way of motivating children &#8212; or devaluing achievement?<\/p&gt;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4009,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[776],"class_list":["post-3998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-participation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3998"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9462,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3998\/revisions\/9462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}