Most people feel that competition is an important part of adult life and that children should be exposed to competitive activities at an early age. Write an essay arguing either for or against the statement, “Children should be involved in competition”.
Competition is an essential part of modern society. Ever since we were born, we have been placed in a life-long competition where we need to fight for everything we want. Competition is prevalent in modern world and there is no way to avoid it if we want to survive. Therefore, adults as well as the children need to be involved in competitive activities.
When talking about competition, people tend to have a negative impression on it because they usually consider competition stressful, exhausting and frightening. That is why people feel that children should not be exposed to competitive activities at an early age because they are supposed to lead a golden childhood that is free from pressure. However, I do not agree with the above opinion. People tend to place a negative impression on competition because they put the focus on the result. Therefore, people are under immense pressure to win whenever they are in competition.
In fact, competition can be advantageous if we put the focus on the process instead of the result. By involving in competitive activities, we are pushed to realize our full potential and our competitors can serve as a driving force for further improvement. This could make us become more determined to strive for the best. A survey recently conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong has revealed that students taking examinations are more eager to learn and more attentive in lessons. It’s mostly because students need to compete with their classmates in order to get a good rank in class.
Competition is not all winning over one another. Even if we lose, we can still get something from it. For example, last year, I participated in an inter-school treasure hunt with some of my classmates. During the competition, we need to follow the instructions and finish various tasks as fast as possible. Although we lost in the competition, we have established a strong team spirit. Moreover, I learnt how to better co-operate with my teammates and it really improved my communication skills. People always think that children should not be involved in competitive activities at an early age because they think it would be detrimental to children’s confidence when they are defeated by others. However, if we value the result less seriously, competition could be a lot more enjoyable when we can learn from both ups and downs. Furthermore, children’s ability to survive will be undermined if they are too well protected. When we keep animals as pets at our home, they will gradually lose their ability to find food or protect themselves from the attack of other animals. These animals will probably die when they are released back to the wild because they are not as competitive as other animals. The same case can be applied to raising a child in an environment that is free from competition. If the children are not involved in any competitive activities at an early age, they may find it even more unbearable if they are exposed to fierce competition at later age. This will then really cause a severe blow to the young mind of children.
Exposure to competitive activities of children at an early age can help them better prepare to cope with the ever-changing environment and their fierce competition in the adult world. Therefore, I strongly encourage children to take part in competition as it can bring real benefits to them.