How can competition be a bad thing

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Home Athlete Development. Share on Facebook. Think back to great competitions you had as a kid — where did they take place? Here are 5 reasons why competition is a good thing for your child: Competition embodies play.

Play is perhaps the greatest setting for learning social skills and integration. To ward off these negative experiences, many parents remove the competitive aspect of every activity and declare everyone a winner.

The work of Thurston Domina , professor of education policy and sociology at the University of North Carolina, indicates that turning low-stakes activities into competitions is bad for kids. Domina's research has found that competitions do little to motivate kids.

His research team observed two California high schools that gave out gold or platinum ID cards to kids who scored well on standardized tests.

What they found was that the program not only had little motivation for lower-achieving students, it also increased inequality and division among students. Meanwhile, those who embrace competition as a fact of life may believe that a little healthy competition might actually be good for kids.

Aside from preparing them for wins and losses later in their adult life, competitive activities help them develop important skills like resilience, perseverance, and tenacity.

What's more, many coaches may feel that parenting is not just about safety and security, but also about expanding a child's comfort zone. In other words, it's important for kids to get used to the frustration that comes from competition. And, more importantly, it helps them circumvent the desire to quit or give up when things get tough.

Although it is important for a child to know they are safe, it is also important to allow a child to experience the instability and uncertainty that comes from competitive situations.

One of the biggest mistakes some parents make is protecting their kids from failure. Failure is not a bad thing. It might feel uncomfortable but it is a wonderful opportunity to learn. In fact, learning from failures not only motivates kids to work harder and improve a skill, but it also can help them become more capable adults that do not crumble the first time things get tough. The key is to find healthy ways for your kids to compete. Keep in mind that competitiveness by itself is generally not a bad thing—it's how people approach competitions that can make them unhealthy.

In other words, if the only goal is to win and not learn anything in the process, kids are going to feel discouraged when they lose. But, if parents, coaches, and fans learn how to look at losing constructively, then kids will learn a lot more from the competitions they participate in.

According to Carol Dweck, Stanford psychologist and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success , it is important the competition fosters a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. For instance, when kids believe that the qualities they have cannot be changed, such as being bad at math, then they have a fixed mindset.

Consequently, when kids have this mindset, they believe that change is not possible and they are stuck with what they are given, such as basketball ability, intelligence, artistic talent, and so on, and that they cannot change or suddenly develop soccer skills, musical talent, or a propensity for math. What's more, according to Dweck, kids with a fixed mindset often feel the need to prove themselves over and over again and often evaluate themselves in an all-or-nothing kind of way.

Meanwhile, the opposite of a fixed mindset is the growth mindset. Kids who have a growth mindset recognize their current skills and abilities, but believe that they can change, improve, or add new skills with time and effort. As a result, when kids have a growth mindset, they are more likely to approach competition understanding that if they do not do well, it is not the end of the world.

They know that they can learn and improve. And, more importantly, they are willing to try. As a parent, you have the power to help your kids think positively about competition. Make sure your kids know that competition is really about setting a goal and then accomplishing that goal. In other words, instead of focusing on winning, focus on what he has control over such as the number of shots he takes in a basketball game or the amount of time he is willing to invest in practicing for his solo and ensemble competition.

At the end of the competition, it will matter less the overall outcome and instead whether or not he accomplished what he set out to do. It's important for parents to be there to support their kids through the challenges. You also need to regularly reinforce the message that it is okay to lose as long as they are working hard, putting in their best effort, and learning from the experience.

In fact, some coaches will indicate that the biggest lesson kids will learn from competition is that the biggest competitor is themselves. In other words, kids not only need to learn to believe in themselves and their abilities, but also discover that their identity is not tied to winning or losing but to their character in either scenario.

Here are some strategies for getting the most out of competitive situations. Clearly, there are some competitive situations where the primary goal is to win.

While this is fine in some situations, there is also a loser. If winning is the only goal that a child is focused on, it is bound to create an unhealthy environment. Remember, no one has control over the outcome of a game. As a result, it is better for kids to have other goals besides winning such as a goal based on personal performance.

Maybe they will still lose the game, but they will see their skill level improve in some way. Whether they are playing a sport , entering a dance competition, or participating in the science olympiad, there will be times in a child's life where they must compete with others. In these situations, take the focus off of winning and instead focus on the things they can control, like their effort. For instance, were they extremely focused? Did they show a lot of gritty behavior?

Did they manage their time well? It's important for kids to see that success is not about winning. Then, in the future, when they do not get into the college of their choice or they do not land the job they wanted, they will be able to step back and reflect on what they did well as well as where they might try to improve. This can happen in two ways: 1 External competition—focusing on business competitors and imitating and one-upping them rather than coming up with original ideas, and 2 Internal competition—focusing on how coworkers are doing and only being concerned with staying just ahead of them rather than doing your personal best.

Use competition sparingly. Instead of using competitions frequently, use them sparingly. There are so many other ways to recognize your employees. Check out our blog for countless suggestions! Personalize recognition to your team. Competitions can be a shortcut for recognition. Instead, put effort into getting to know your team members individually and finding out what motivates them.

Switch it up. Using competitions strategically can still benefit your organization in many awesome ways. But, instead of having employees compete against their peers, perhaps you could create games and competitions that encourage them to beat their own personal records. This way, each employee will experience increased performance, a boost in their self-esteem, and recognition from you.

Good peer relationships include a healthy amount of competition, but mostly involve encouragement, support, and teamwork. Check out our free white paper that clears up gray areas about peer-to-peer recognition for winning ways to improve productivity, engagement, and camaraderie in your workplace. Back in President George H. Bush declared the first week of every October National Customer When thinking about employee engagement let employees know you appreciated their hard work the past year by finding the best corporate gifts.

Ok, the secret's out. The number one challenge com. The best gift boxes have the potential to make gift-giving magical. Filled with a collection of themed items, the perfect gift box can deliver more joy. Recognizing your employees helps to develop a culture of gratitude. When employees kno.