SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — Don’t expect a trophy if your child plays in one South Portland’s Parks and Recreation youth leagues.
They’re one of many departments refusing to give out participation trophies.
“We don’t reward the kids in the form of trophies or rewards, often,” said Rick Towle, director of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. “We give them a certificate of participation.”
Those trophies are a source of debate for parents across the country with those who think it’s harmless and fun, while others think it’s rewarding “losers.”
That is why Towle said they stay out of the trophy debate.
“The focus of the process is about the journey and the relationships that they build with their coaches and their families,” he said.
“I think each loss should just make you want to work harder,” said Maddie Hasson, a standout player for the South Portland High School girls basketball team who is involved as a mentor with the city’s youth sports program on weekends.
“That’s part of what being a good loser is about, wanting to come back better,” she said.
Psychologists across the country are studying how participation trophies affect a child’s development. CBS 13 discussed the subject with Bowdoin College developmental psychology professor Sam Putnam, who said the trophies are probably harmless, but some studies do suggest otherwise.
“There are several reasons to believe it’s not a good thing [to give out participation trophies],” he said.
“It does build this unrealistic expectation,” he said. “It doesn’t give kids a chance to understand what it’s like to lose and how to deal with that.”
In addition, Putnam said studies show rewarding a child with a trophy for something that’s already fun, will make the activity less fun. Putnam also said it can actually hurt a child’s self esteem.
“If a kid kind of recognizes that, ‘Well, I’m not the best one on the team,” and they’re told, ‘Oh, you’re really good,’ it actually makes them feel worse,” he said.
A 2014 poll by Reason-Rupe shows 40 percent of people surveyed support trophies for all. However, the majority in that poll thought the trophies do more harm than good.