Summary In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” the author Jessica Statsky argues that the contact sports like tackle ball and peewee football have damaging effects on children. She holds a strong opinion that the children sports should be about teaching them sportsmanship and teamwork. She says that the sports that focus on winning either induce either the fear of losing or the fear of getting hurt. This causes the children to avoid playing. These sports also exert great pressures on the mind and body of the children.
In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete.” Jessica statsky brought forward a pressing issue of competitive sports that has now become a part of our lives. Statsky claims that these competitive sports have a harmful effect on a child’s mind. The extreme physical pressure is quite damaging as well. The injuries children face can sometimes take forever to heal itself. These sport are planned according to the strength and age of an adult and child should not be put in the position to play by these standards.
In “children Need to Play, Not compete.” Jessica Statsky brings out the emerging trend of the harmful competitive sports among the young children under the age of fourteen. The drawbacks of introducing such sport at a young age result in mental and physical problems along with losing of potential player dues to the selection method. She talks about the psychological pressure the children face to meet the standard set by their parents and coaches. Jessica goes on further, explaining and supporting her point of view regarding these competitive sports with different sources. She points out that the children are put under the unnecessary physical burden that their week and developing bodies can’t handle.
In “children Need to Play, Not compete,” Jessica Statsky talks about the damaging effects on children when they are forced to participate in of sports designed for grownups. These sports are designed keeping in mind the standards of professional practice which become a lot of burden for young kids. Being exposed to this kind of sport puts the fragile bodies in distress. Jessica further says that nowadays the only object to play sports has shifted to winning and defeating the other team. Due to this reason the essence of sport is lost for example learning to play and work together as a team, maintain a healthy body image and collaboration with members the other team.
Although my friends and I believe that competition is a great thing at school, some parents and schools are trying to argue that we should remove competition from school. They believe that kids can get hurt, but a child can get hurt just as easily walking up the stairs as they can playing sports. Other people believe that a child’s self esteem is lowered when they lose. If a child doesn’t learn how to take loss then he or she will never be prepared for the real world. We have to allow these kids to compete with each other or they may never learn some necessary things for the real world.
In today’s society, it seems as if everything is a competition. From competing for a spot at the best school to attend to competing against fellow colleagues for the best position in the job field; it’s always a fight for the top spot. In Jessica Statsky’s essay, “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” she explains the harsh effects that can occur in children if they are put into competitive sports too early in life. It is understandable that the world needs to be competitive in order to grow and expand, however, if competition is pushed too much at a young age, children may start to doubt themselves, believe that they are not any better than anyone else, and sometimes even end up hating the activity that they are pursuing. That is why parents
In the article, Children Need to Play, Not Compete, Jessica Statsky states that children now a day are very competitive, and she does not approve. She thinks Pee Wee sports are not enjoyable anymore because children are afraid of getting injured. Also, children do not smile anymore because the sport becomes a job for them. She claims that parents and coaches are pressuring the kids to be better and win all the time, and kids compete more to live up to their expectations and become depressed. Now the games are on the parent’s standards and it can affect the child both physically and psychologically.
Summary “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” by Jessica Statsky is a thoughtful insight on the competitive sports for children. She is of the view that the competitive sports can ruin the enjoyment that games are supposed to provide. These methods of playing the games like adults can prove to be lethal for physical and psychological health. The author quotes from an authentic source that “Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical.” (Tutko) This means that the games for children need to focus more on their pleasure and enjoyment rather than on the competition. Competition only makes children bound to be winners.
I’ve seen kids drop out of sports time and time again. Talented children who pour their hearts into youth sports in elementary school will stop playing because it’s just not fun for them anymore. Why? They feel too much pressure or their parents push them too hard, they may be upset because they’re not selected for elite teams, or they are bullied by peers and coaches. Bullying As a sports parent and youth sports coach for more than 20 years, I can share that bullying in youth sports is rampant.
According to Jessica Statsky’s essay titled Children Need to Play, Not Compete, most children under the age of 12 do not need competition in sports. Claiming that organized sports are not “satisfying nor beneficial” for young children, Statsky expresses her concerns over a few issues. Supporting her thesis, Statsky discusses the negative physical and psychological effects of competitive sports. She further asserts that most children do not enjoy competition by citing a study about how most children would prefer to be on a losing team that allowed everyone to play rather than a winning team that may bench them due to performance. Also, she states ‘scorekeeping, league standings, and the drive to win bring(s) out the worst in adults’.