Competing games for children aged between 6 to 12 years might expose them to the risk of getting affected psychologically or physically in the development of their growth thus providing a wrong perception towards the games. As Statsky argues in her article “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” shows that the expectations of winning always and fears of being injured or hurt in most cases it might discourage them from playing or depress them. It is also clear that competing in children’s sports might be considered counterproductive as most of the players are eliminated even before they have prepared adequately to contest. Even though injury cases are rare, children are not physically prepared to overcome the crashes. However, as competitions involve much pressure, children’s unconsciousness makes them focus only on winning and forget about playing for fun or fitness. Although this thought of winning is more important for motivating them to succeed, its implementation can be a drive to bad effects. This occurs in cases where the kids have enough body capabilities but are not mentally determined on how to handle the pressures. For this reason, children should be encouraged to concentrate on sports for the development of their teamwork skills, fitness, and coordination, as this can help them focus on a future that will enable them to become good competitors.
Competitions organized and conducted to children aged between 6 to 12years might be harmful to their mentality. This means that guardians and coaches who place their desires in children’s wining might cause them to become depressed and discouraged as their psychological and physical developments are inappropriate to compete on (Statsky, 2010). Although the chances of getting hurt are quite minimal, the fear of getting hurt might make the youngsters overreact through the simulation of fake incidents. This includes inducing themselves into a situation such as vomiting in order to convince the coaches or parents that they are not feeling well; thus, they cannot play, but in the real sense, they just fear the game (Statsky, 2010). A statement according to Martin, who is a former New York Times sports editor, says that kids are supposed to enjoy playing sports rather than playing them for awards. However, it is really hard to notice any smiles on their faces as, in these cases, they play the sports as if it is their job. Sports competitions structured for children should be designed to ensure that all kids acquire knowledge, socialize with each other and have fun. Therefore, any kind of designed activity for children that involves a lot of pressure children should be trained and advised to play them only for fun and to maintain body fitness.
References
Statsky, J. (2010, July 9). Children need to play, not compete. Retrieved from http://www.redwoods.edu/instruct/jjohnston/english1a/readings/statsky.pdf
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