What is it that competition achieves except tensions, bad relationships and unnecessary headaches? In today’s largely competitive world, children at very young ages are exposed to the effects of unhealthy competition. From sports to academics, children and teenagers have schedules that are overstuffed with team practices, music lessons, and intensive tutoring sessions which originally were intended to enhance our lives but instead have mutated to ugly battles between highly ambitious peers and uncompromising parents. Competition in today’s society has gotten out of hand and must be harnessed.

Parents are constantly pushing their children not to do their best but to do THE best. The children come to believe that the only way to please their parents and get attention is to do what their parents expect. This causes damage to the parent-child relationship. Sometimes, children develop resentful attitudes towards parents who expect more than they can accomplish. Other times, children begin to believe that they are failures. In the most drastic cases, these feelings can accumulate and lead to mental disorders such as depression. It’s a vicious cycle in which the parents come to expect more and the kids work harder each and every time to attain love and attention.
Competition also causes mistrust among peers because almost every other peer is someone they are competing against. This results in shaky grounds for creating and maintaining meaningful friendships, which are important components in every person’s life especially in the developing stages of childhood and adolescence. So what can we do to resolve this issue? We must do everything in moderation. Encourage your parents to sit down with you to map out a comfortable schedule each week. Make compromises with your parents about extracurricular activities so you don’t get overloaded with work and stressed out. Remember, always know your limits and let your parents know them too. Also, remember that competition doesn’t always have to be ugly. With a healthy attitude, competition in sports, academics, and music is recommended for anyone to experience the excitement of success.

So don’t kill yourself trying to be THE best, focus on doing YOUR best. Just be a kid and live life to the fullest.

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