Watching the 4 year olds compete at their first sports day today, seeing the joy on the parent's faces as their kids crossed the line with their spoon and bean bag, I witnessed first hand how powerful these defining moments are in a child's life.
So, while it is encouraged to cheer on every child for taking part at these events, it was evidently very difficult to conceal the excitement from the mums and dads as their somewhat bewildered child took the line as a winner and immense relieve certain parents expressed as their child trotted in away from last place.
Winners
It was a wonderfully amusing and at the same time very human base-level, survival spectacle which will have imprinted something on that child's character that will either give them a solid foundation of self confidence or, if we're not careful, a fear of failure. We put so much importance on winning as it's a survival instinct built in to our genetic makeup. Nowhere more so than the kids sports day, do we see these human traits in their rawest form. But if we remove the competitive element, what do we gain from watching some exercise in the park?
Even if we try and kid ourselves that it's just the taking part, seeing your child take the line and pick up a gold medal in front of all the other class mates, teachers and parents, is a defining moment not only for parents but in that child and every other child's development one way or other - either a mark for already having success, achieving success again or a measure to strive for success in the future.
Even if we try and kid ourselves that it's just the taking part, seeing your child take the line and pick up a gold medal in front of all the other class mates, teachers and parents, is a defining moment not only for parents but in that child and every other child's development one way or other - either a mark for already having success, achieving success again or a measure to strive for success in the future.
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