Children Need To Play Not Compete By Jessica Statsky

Summary The passage ‘Children need to play, not compete’ is a profound analysis of a variety of negative impacts that the competitive sports have on the life of children. Jessica Statsky is of the view that competitive sports have a far more negative effects on children than the benefits of it. The ‘adult standards’ that are unfit for the children, need to be eradicated from children sports as they are inappropriate for their better physical growth. These include all kinds of sports that are contact as well as non-contact.

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)

More adults and coaches need to go to training sessions that puts emphasis on the team sport rather than the score. The values learned in playing a sport that demands performance helps to groom a child for the future. Consequently, adults should be able to translate those values to a child so they understand exactly why they are playing. Even she credits the Little League for having workshops that deal with the ”educational theory” of team sports and “how to make practices more fun”. This should become a standard for all sports no matter what

Children are playing just to win and the real spirit of the game fades out. (Word count: 196) Response I strongly agree with the point of Jessica Statsky in “Children Need to Play, Not Compete”. The way Statsky explains the facts by referring to other people is not questionable. The parents forcefully ask their children to join sports for the development of their bodies and mind.

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

The first reason that kids should participate in competitive sports is that sports teach kids valuable morals. By learning these morals and life lessons from an early age, they are more likely to start using them in the future

While some parents believe that the competition can harm kids, I believe that sports can greatly help kids. Making them experience healthy competition and become more well rounded contributing members of society. The first reason that I believe supports my claim is that kids gain a sense of healthy competition that can prepare them for life. This can be seen in the article “Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the High School Level” where Grace Chen, an education researcher, writer, and educator, states that sports and competition, “...help teens develop an array of personal skills, including resilience, attitude control, time management, and long term thinking abilities” (Chen 6).

Going along with the children’s families, the parents of these young athletes are spending large amounts of money to make their kid the best and go onto the professional league. The families of these children not only spend hundreds of dollars, but also are one of the top reasons youth sports have become so intense. They have been more involved and effect the child’s performance. These sports programs are causing mental and physical damage for these developing kids and the intensity of parents and coached have made it even more overwhelming. Youth Sports are getting so intense they are putting the lives of children in trouble.

The amount of children participating in competitive sports has been on a steady decline in the past decade. Between the years of 2008 and 2013, the total number of children participating in competitive sports has dropped by approximately 2.6 million. This is mainly due to the many negative impacts that young athletes face when partaking in these sports. Competitive sports involve sports where competition is encouraged, and where winning is more important than anything else. Competing in these sports causes the children to be vulnerable to many risks and many other negative impacts.

Children have strived for years to make their parents, teachers and coaches proud of them. Kids have come to practice Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday to get better, while their academics are suffering. Students have pushed their bodies to the limits, causing extreme injury that will hold them back from sports in the future. Student athletes are not getting the opportunity to play multiple sports during the year, because they are expected to spelize in one sport and focus on it year round, leaving no opportunity to play other sports or do other activities. Youth sports are becoming too intense for young children to keep up with.

Some kids will play rougher and more physically than others trying to do better than kids on the opposing team. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports, over the past thirty years “fractures increased by fifty-six percent in girls and thirty-two percent in boys” (see figure 1). Children and kids often continue to play sports even after injuring themselves or after being injured by another person because of the fear of their parent and or coaches expectations(s) for them to win and continue playing (Muller). Parents often do not like to see their child fail in a sport they want them to succeed in (Wallace). Furthermore, parents will also push their child into sports frequently for their own enjoyment as well as pushing them into sports to keep them in shape.

Some people don’t know the benefits of playing competitive sports, but After reading my essay I think you now know most of the benefits and maybe from now you might see competitive sports in a different way. Playing competitive sports matters because it has a huge impact on your life. If you are a parent reading this easy I think you should allow your child to join and play competitive sports it important that children stay healthy. For kids not everyone is good at all sports but is better for kid join and try out new things and remember it’s not all about winning but it’s also about

Kids need competition, but not to much. When more pressure is put on from coaches during a game it makes the game two times more competitive. It is really tough for coaches to be able to tell if the pressure it is affecting the kids but they have to be cautious because their words mean a lot. During game action coaches have the most influence on

For example, a competitive environment teaches kids how to handle pressure and criticism (Mango 3). Most sports have situations that put athletes in tight spots. Even though they push them out of their comfort zone, it teaches them how to keep cool and figure it out. Some may say that too much pressure for youths can leave a negative impact on them. On the other hand, by learning how to cope with the tension and criticism from supportive coaches and teammates, kids can persevere through these problems and grow stronger mentally.

Kids can translate the hard work they've put into their sport by working harder to be a better student or employee and a better person overall. Kids sports can most definitely help in the area of working together with someone or a