Should youth 11 years old and younger be exposed to competition, i,e, scoring?

Competition can be good for children. It can help children develop healthy attitudes about winning and losing. Children are not born with the natural urge to compete. This is a learned skill and behavior. Competition usually starts at about five years old. Competition can encourage growth and push a child to excel. Competition can also be very rough for a young child. There must always be a winner and a loser, but young children sometimes just can’t deal with losing. The question is, can a young child handle defeat and at what point do you no how much a child can take? Losing is a serious business, especially for a child who really wants to win. Winning, losing, or playing against others has little or no meaning for children under the age of seven. They are more concerned about the rules of the game and how the games are played. They often break the rules, because they can’t remember .By the age of eight, children can follow rules and understand what it really means to win or lose.
In 2001, a survey was conducted by Sports Illustrated for kids. The survey found that seventy percent of children quit organized sports by the tender age of thirteen. They said that they were no longer having fun. Often this happens because referees, coaches, and parents are

continued more caught up in the competition than the children. The focus should not primarily be on winning or losing at such a young age. Rather gaining friends and learning the art of the sport.
Quiting should never be an option either. You never want to teach a child to give up quit anything in life. At such a young age, teaching a child to never give up will help with any future life lessons.
One group thought it would be better for the young kids to not keep score. They wanted the kids to focus on the sports rather than the fact of winning or losing. Not all agreed with this decision. Some people were very upset and thought this to be a very bad idea.
They were being accused of being “un American”. One parent became so enraged that he said “there are winners and losers in life, and kids need to learn that at the tender age of six. Competition can be a very healthy thing, but there is plenty of time throughout their lives to learn that. Even though competition can be healthy in many ways, it is how the parents deal with it. (winning or losing). Sometimes the adults cause more harm than good when they get so involved that they loose focus on the real reason the kids are out there in the first place. One sports psychologist found that eighty four percent of eight to ten year olds surveyed would rather play for a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team.
Kids a lot like adults, they also like to win. One study thought that kids should not play competitive sports until the age of eight. Handling competition can be stressful. Developmentally, kids playing competively, need to have sufficient self-discipline and a good attention span. Lacking in these areas can cause injury to the child/children. If a child is passionate about a sport, but does not like to listen and respect the coaches, maybe they are not ready for competitive sports . Competitive scoring and sports can effect a child in a negative as well as a positive way. Hopefully if done right, the positive can outweigh the negative. Allowing a child to understand that losing is not always a bad thing. Sometimes in life, your losing can help you become stronger and wiser for the victory that is in his/her future. Experiencing both losing and winning is a good thing for children. There are many advantages and disadvantages in youth competition in sports. Competition can encourage growth and push a child to excel. Children also benefit as they learn about their abilities and limitations, as they learn to set goals, learn the rules of the game, learn to work with others, develop skills, and much more. Competition can harm a child if it causes physical and emotional injury, or both. If it shatters the loser (child), insults self worth, cause hostility, aggression, or makes a child unpopular. There are many pros and cons of exposing children to competition sports, however you must no your child and his/her ability to handle the good and the bad that comes along with it.

Continued

Children who are not ready for competitive activities are usually insecure, immature, selfish, spoiled, or irresponsible. They have not developed patience or tolerance and often throw tantrums. They tend to become overwhelmed by competition, competitive task and comparison.

I have had my children in competitive sports for a long time and very young age. As I read the different articles, I had mixed emotions about them. I no that There has been many studied that suggest that a child should not start competitive sports until the age of eight, but I also believe that it depends on the child. Competitive sports can be stressful if not handled correctly. One should never loose focus on why the child is doing sports in the first place.
Taking time to engage with your child is always a good thing. Encouraging them to flex their competitive muscles in a secure environment helps them learn they can lose a game without losing self confidence.

I feel there is no need to push a child who already has a
Competitive spirit. It may be appropriate to encourage a more reluctant child who shows potential.

Overall competitive sports has its pros and cons. It’s what we do with it that makes or breaks a child. Being exposed to competitive sports at such an early age can mold your future sport decisions. Everyone wants to be a winner in life, but someone also has to be a loser. Either way, competitive sporting has been around for a long time and probably won’t change anytime soon. So it is up to us as adults to properly guide and nurture them.
Reference

CBS NEWS –BY VICKI SMITH
TEMPERING COMPETITION IN KIDS SPORTS

NORTH CAROLINA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS PHYSIOLOGY AND PROGRAMMING
2011,6-572-579 HUMAN KINETICS, INC.

PARENTING MAGAZINE ARTICLE
ARE KIDS SPORTS TOO COMPETITIVE

I have had my children in sports for many years and I must admit that there are good and bad in competition sports.