My wife asked if I had looked at my kids FB this am...I said no I do not get his feed...so she showed me this. I was happy to read that he has a course in life and is sharing his opinions. I think many here have shared a similar opinion...but I was happy to read it again....https://www.facebook.com/messages/tommy.freeman.9
Tommy Freeman
3 hrs ·
I'm not sure how this whole "participation trophy" culture got started but it needs to stop. We give kids participation trophies for playing sports in elementary and middle school. Basically, we give them to kids because they tried. Is that what kids need to feel good about themselves? Last time I checked my parents' generation turned out just fine and they never received and participation trophies. Get this, some of them actually got cut from the sports teams in high school. Yes, you read that right. Some of them actually did not make the team. I'm not sure if it was such a traumatizing experience not making the team that the baby boomer generation said to themselves, "I never want my kid to have to go through that." Or if they are trying to shelter their children from experiencing any disappointment in their lifetime until they leave the nest.
Parents are doing their kids a disservice by promoting this "participation trophy" culture. In previous jobs that parents have worked throughout their lives do employers say, "It's alright because at least you tried." NOOOO!!! They fire you. Not everybody wins in the real world. You don't keep your job because you are mediocre at what you do. If this is how the business world worked then there would be no profitable businesses and everyone would have a job. If you're not getting the job done you get fired plain and simple. To celebrate being mediocre or poor just as much as being great is not preparing kids for the real world. In life everyone is going to experience disappointment.
This is what I tell basketball players that I train. They ask me what they should do in order to get more playing time. It's really quite simple. "If you want more playing time then get better." If you want to keep your job then be great at it. I understand that certain kids are going to be better at sports than others. Allow those kids to realize that their strength may not be athletics and let them find something that they can excel doing. My two younger brothers had as much athletic ability combined as I had in my pinky. One had a passion for art and the other loved acting. Both went on to study those two areas in college and both have been very successful. Let's stop this practice of celebrating average and give kids a dose of how the world really works.
For the record this is what his brothers do http://daveintheshop.com/
Tommy Freeman
3 hrs ·
I'm not sure how this whole "participation trophy" culture got started but it needs to stop. We give kids participation trophies for playing sports in elementary and middle school. Basically, we give them to kids because they tried. Is that what kids need to feel good about themselves? Last time I checked my parents' generation turned out just fine and they never received and participation trophies. Get this, some of them actually got cut from the sports teams in high school. Yes, you read that right. Some of them actually did not make the team. I'm not sure if it was such a traumatizing experience not making the team that the baby boomer generation said to themselves, "I never want my kid to have to go through that." Or if they are trying to shelter their children from experiencing any disappointment in their lifetime until they leave the nest.
Parents are doing their kids a disservice by promoting this "participation trophy" culture. In previous jobs that parents have worked throughout their lives do employers say, "It's alright because at least you tried." NOOOO!!! They fire you. Not everybody wins in the real world. You don't keep your job because you are mediocre at what you do. If this is how the business world worked then there would be no profitable businesses and everyone would have a job. If you're not getting the job done you get fired plain and simple. To celebrate being mediocre or poor just as much as being great is not preparing kids for the real world. In life everyone is going to experience disappointment.
This is what I tell basketball players that I train. They ask me what they should do in order to get more playing time. It's really quite simple. "If you want more playing time then get better." If you want to keep your job then be great at it. I understand that certain kids are going to be better at sports than others. Allow those kids to realize that their strength may not be athletics and let them find something that they can excel doing. My two younger brothers had as much athletic ability combined as I had in my pinky. One had a passion for art and the other loved acting. Both went on to study those two areas in college and both have been very successful. Let's stop this practice of celebrating average and give kids a dose of how the world really works.
For the record this is what his brothers do http://daveintheshop.com/
