Photo

Have we gone trophy-crazy as a society, bestowing trophies on children for almost anything, even just showing up? Are we afraid children will be hurt by losing, so we make everyone a winner? Or are awards an effective way to raise children’s self-esteem and keep them motivated to do better?

Do we give children too many trophies?



In the Op-Ed piece “Losing Is Good for You,” Ashley Merryman writes about the decades-old trend of giving children countless participation trophies and awards.

As children return to school this fall and sign up for a new year’s worth of extracurricular activities, parents should keep one question in mind. Whether your kid loves Little League or gymnastics, ask the program organizers this: “Which kids get awards?” If the answer is, “Everybody gets a trophy,” find another program. Trophies were once rare things — sterling silver loving cups bought from jewelry stores for truly special occasions. But in the 1960s, they began to be mass-produced, marketed in catalogs to teachers and coaches, and sold in sporting-goods stores. Today, participation trophies and prizes are almost a given, as children are constantly assured that they are winners. One Maryland summer program gives awards every day — and the “day” is one hour long. In Southern California, a regional branch of the American Youth Soccer Organization hands out roughly 3,500 awards each season — each player gets one, while around a third get two. Nationally, A.Y.S.O. local branches typically spend as much as 12 percent of their yearly budgets on trophies. It adds up: trophy and award sales are now an estimated $3 billion-a-year industry in the United States and Canada

Students: Tell us …

Do we give children too many trophies? Do you agree with Ms. Merryman that giving everyone awards, instead of just an exceptional few, leads to children underperforming in the long run?

Have you ever gotten a trophy you didn’t think you deserved? How did the award make you feel? Did it affect how hard you tried?

Does the possibility of earning a trophy or an award help to motivate you? Can you give an example?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.