Fifth Place Trophies

I guess I am bored this afternoon so let me alienate an entire generation of parents.  Who buys their kids a trophy when the team comes in fifth place?  Really?

We missed an end of season baseball party because our son was picked up by another team to play in the state tournament.  It was the wrong team, but he got to play a couple extra games and it is likely leading us to a decision I hate to make: select baseball.

I see way too many parents pay for their kids to be on a select baseball team because they want their kid to be "select."  What does that mean though?

Well, it means you are paying to play baseball which I find abhorrent to begin with.  I guess it is part of the process, but it feels like you are buying them a place in the line.

Another thing that I would consider a positive is it should mean you have the opportunity to not put up with discipline problems because when they happen, you can be dropped and another kid can be put in your place.  I hope that happens at least because as outlined in recent posts this idea of not showing up to team practices or warm ups and wandering in as the game begins is not for me.

It doesn't bug me in swimming or tennis, but when you are on a team, you accomplish together and it isn't right for one or two kids to carry the load.

To the original point though, who buys their kid a trophy for finishing fifth?  For me, buying your kid a trophy for finishing fifth tells the kid at age ten you will be there for the rest of their life to kiss every boo boo that happens.  They build zero resiliency and think that they are then entitled to whatever they want.  Hey, I showed up...don't I get a trophy?

It reminds me of the old Chris Rock skit.

"I don't beat my kids.  What do you want a cookie?  I've never been arrested.  You aren't supposed to get arrested."

Really.  Have our standards fallen so low we now train our kids that showing up and having your glove is an accomplishment.  Do we really cheapen accomplishment that much?  I worry for the parents who want their kid to have a participation trophy.  The signal you are sending is you will be supporting them for the rest of their life so when you thirty year old is on your couch or in your basement in two decades, don't complain about it, bake a plate of cookies, because you set those expectations up...not them.