From a young age, children are showered with trophies, often recognizing them for mere participation and effort. Despite not directly winning first place, they are still given part of the winner’s glory. As important as it is to appreciate and encourage effort and hard work, giving children too many trophies enforces the idea that you will always win in life and that it is not okay to lose. Additionally, it supports the assumption that you can put in minimal effort and still win an award. 

The concepts and ideals that we teach children at a young age stick with them for life. For example, a study from the New York Times found “if parents thought failure was debilitating, their kids adopted that perspective. If parents believed overcoming failure and mistakes made you stronger, then their children believed it, too.” If we never let our children lose, they will never be okay with not winning in the real world. This could cause conflict and frustration once these kids grow up as they encounter struggles and difficult challenges in their lives. Winning comes with a lot of focus and effort and is not always awarded. Moreover, it is important that kids learn that mistakes are beneficial and help through the pathway to success. Not winning a trophy does not define our self worth, but instead gives us an opportunity to learn from our experience and do better in the future. Giving everyone a trophy may lessen the value of a true reward and winner, as people who displayed less effort or ability receive the same recognition. 

Also, parents could be over-praising their children, as their attempt to feed self-esteem. Market Watch shared that “praise is a controversial topic these days for children,” says Salt Lake City-based clinical psychologist Paul Murdock. Some parents worry that too much praise will turn their children “soft.” Showering children with this praise may make it hard for them to operate when they are not met with the same praise once they are on their own. Not everything is going to be recognized and awarded in the real world. Instead, effort will simply just be expected. We must teach children these principles so that they are better prepared for challenges throughout school, work, and other future endeavors. 

On the other hand, some people believe that giving participation trophies is beneficial as it actually recognizes effort. A quote from CNN says, “Having a child return the trophy compounds the idea that only being the best is good enough when in fact giving one’s best should have that mantle.” Others also say that parents have a responsibility to build their children’s confidence, and that praising them is a great way to do so. Although it is important that we encourage and strengthen self-esteem from a young age, we also have to ensure that we do not support egotistical behavior or let developing children depend on praise for their own personal self-image. If children are constantly learning that they can easily earn awards, they may seek this same validation in a work and school world that requires much more difficult work and effort.