Children Need To Play, Not Compete: Summary And Response
Children Need To Play Not Compete Summary And Responsesummaryinchild
Children Need To Play, Not Compete: Summary and Response Summary In Children Need to Play, Not Compete, Jessica Statsky explains the irrelevance of competition in childhood games. She is strong on her ground against the idea of competition in childhood games. She notes that parents were more concerned with the results of the sports rather than the whole development of children. Statsky disapproves the idea of competitive sports for children and recommends an overhaul of the structure of childhood games, in order that they may be more enjoyable and inclusive for the children. According to her, organized sporting activities are not ideal for nurturing children because they put pressure on them due to the dominant expectation to win.
She holds that there should not be any exception despite the physical abilities displayed by the children. In addition, she asserts that enjoyment should be the main objective, not winning. She therefore suggests that sports for children should be re-created for enjoyment purposes despite the physical abilities of children (Statsky).
Response
In Jessica’s article, I find several factual ideas regarding children and sports. Sporting activities such as rugby could pose serious injuries to children. Children are normally in their initial stages of physical development. Their bodies are delicate and exposing them to demanding games could harm them. Injuries sustained during childhood could induce fatality faster than injuries sustained during adulthood. Similarly, as Statsky puts it, selecting for talent in children is a wrong practice. The ideal thing to do would be teaching them the playing technicalities and nurturing their abilities and talents before they are subjected to sports tests.
This way, they will engage in sports with clarity of the objectives and having been adequately prepared. Nevertheless, children can derive several benefits from engaging in sporting activities. Organized sports prepare children for the future through real life situations through real practice. Through organized sports, children can learn the rules necessary for the sports for success. For example, when children go to school, their performance is based on the grades they score in various subjects. Highest grades are ranked first while lowest grades are ranked last. This encourages and motivates them to work harder to score higher grades. In the same way, sporting activities can induce continuous improvement based on the results from competitions. This can boost their motivation, contrary to the discouragement the Statsky puts across. Despite the idea that this may have undesirable effects on children whose mental status is not prepared, the eventual effect is a lesson learned, and that necessitates continuous improvement for better outcomes in the future.
Actually, the pressure associated with organized sports induces innovativeness in children. These sports motivate children to come up with new ways to win games. This helps them develop their talents and skills. Sports are events that depend on teamwork and cooperation among the members. Organized sports teach children the essence of teamwork and give them qualities that are necessary for success. In that regard, it puts them in a better position in their future endeavors that require teamwork. This is because teamwork is a highly valuable quality in a wide range of other professional activities. The competitive nature of sports gives children the drive to take part in these events. Winning in a competition is exciting, and thus, it keeps children in sports even when they lose. This motivates them to improve their skills by doing more practice. This induces the quality of hard work in children. Therefore, the continuous desire and hard work to improve their skills as individuals and as a team makes them better people in numerous aspects of life.
References
- Statsky, J. (year). Children Need to Play, Not Compete. [Details of publication].