Today’s society has become extremely sensitive, weak, and lazy. The roots of this go back to their childhood days when they received awards for just showing up. Millennials believe they don’t have to put in hard work to become successful, and they believe that they deserve more than they have earned.

Most children, whether playing for a sports team or competing in another activity, receive awards for participation, even if they didn’t win or place in a competition. Children should not receive an award if they do not win the competition. While some think participation awards encourage children to keep trying, really, it only tells them that they can still receive prizes for just showing up.

Studies have shown that rewarding kids just for participating can have a negative impact, producing a self-obsessed, irresponsible, and unmotivated generation of false achievers. Sometimes in the real world, trying one’s hardest isn’t enough. A person can still lose the game of life even if they gave it their all. Just because one tries “super” hard to become a professional basketball player or get that promotion at work doesn’t mean that they will succeed.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ outside linebacker James Harrison took away his kids’ participation trophies because he wants them to “earn a trophy.”

“I came home to find out that my boys received two trophies for nothing, participation trophies. While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they earn a real trophy. I’m sorry I’m not sorry for believing that everything in life should be earned,” said James in a post on Twitter.

Participation awards also make it harder to teach children how to handle losses. If children are always given a prize for not actually winning, they are more likely to throw fits or struggle emotionally when they grow up and deal with even larger, adult world issues.

For younger kids in kindergarten and early elementary school, it might be acceptable to give them a participation award because they are young, and it builds confidence to get an award that they can show to their families. However, for children in middle and high school, they should not receive an award just unless they actually achieve something. This is an age where children need to learn what it is like to be an adult.

Middle and high school is designed to prepare children for adulthood. Giving awards to them for trying “their best” will not teach them how to handle real world emotions and situations properly. If children never experience the pain of a true loss, they will struggle to cope with the many challenges life has to offer.

In order to teach children how to handle losses well and make them realize that their best sometimes isn’t enough, participation awards should be taken out of sports and competitions completely. Participation awards and trophies are a scam from trophy production companies to make more money.

Children need to learn that sometimes, losing is okay, and it should motivate them to work harder and improve their skills to win the next competition or be qualified for the job promotion. Losing can build character and determination.