My friends and I have been saying this for years, that participation trophies are a horrible thing. Just to share a personal experience: I was teaching vacation Bible school several years ago, and the pastor's son was in one of the other classes. At the end of the program, we had always drawn names from a hat for a few of the participants to receive a refurbished bicycle that one of our church members has worked on. We had a total of 3 bikes to give away, and the kids were informed before we drew the names how it was going to be decided who got a bike. There were probably 50 attendees that year (small church) so the majority were not going to get one. The pastor's son's name was not drawn, so no bike Most of the other children didn't get a bike either and didn't seem upset. But the pastor's son threw a fit, crying and carrying on, which unfortunately caused some others to do the same. The next day I was talking to the pastor and he informed me that they had to stop on the way home the night before and buy his son a bike because he was so upset. That, my friends, is an extension of the problems caused by programs like FFPS. Children need to learn that they're not always going to win, and to accept the loss graciously, but parents also need to learn how to say no to their children, even when they are having tantrums and/or crying.
I'll get off of my soapbox now! Thanks Chad for the inciteful article!
My friends and I have been saying this for years, that participation trophies are a horrible thing. Just to share a personal experience: I was teaching vacation Bible school several years ago, and the pastor's son was in one of the other classes. At the end of the program, we had always drawn names from a hat for a few of the participants to receive a refurbished bicycle that one of our church members has worked on. We had a total of 3 bikes to give away, and the kids were informed before we drew the names how it was going to be decided who got a bike. There were probably 50 attendees that year (small church) so the majority were not going to get one. The pastor's son's name was not drawn, so no bike Most of the other children didn't get a bike either and didn't seem upset. But the pastor's son threw a fit, crying and carrying on, which unfortunately caused some others to do the same. The next day I was talking to the pastor and he informed me that they had to stop on the way home the night before and buy his son a bike because he was so upset. That, my friends, is an extension of the problems caused by programs like FFPS. Children need to learn that they're not always going to win, and to accept the loss graciously, but parents also need to learn how to say no to their children, even when they are having tantrums and/or crying.
I'll get off of my soapbox now! Thanks Chad for the inciteful article!