Every Kid Gets a Trophy

I am a firm believer that we (as an adult generation) are raising a generation of people who “deserve” everything.

A lot of people my age and younger have this sense that the world owes them for being alive.  They deserve the best and they shouldn’t have to do anything for it.

Not everyone is like this (or doing this), but you know you’ve seen it.

Recently I had a friend frustrated that her child came home from school with a note essentially saying “if you child is going to hand out Valentine’s Day Cards they MUST have one for every child in the class.”

Her frustration was based on the idea that “Every Kids Gets A Trophy”.  Just show up for the race and you’ll get something because “Every Kid is a Winner”.

AND that is a load of crap.  Although I DO agree that every kid should get a Valentine because if you are having a CLASS event the whole CLASS should be included.  However, if you were not have a Valentine ’s Day party then not every could should get a Valentine because you’ll want to give them to only your friends.  And NOT everyone is your friend.  SURPRISE!

My kids know this.

Taylor has had the harsh reality that some kids just don’t like her.  Get over it.  Make new friends. 

In some instances kids don’t like her for a good reason! They call her gross because they saw her pick her nose and eat it.  Well, Taylor, that is gross.  FIX IT!

I do not expect my kids to “like” everyone.  They will not invite EVERYONE to their birthday party if they have a good reason not to invite you.

I won’t let my kids be mean and not invite somebody because they are “weird” or something.  I mean, they need to know to LOVE and RESPECT everyone, but they don’t have to like everyone.

My kids also know they will not always win.  Yes sweetheart…it’s true…you are not the BEST at everything.  You are great at math, but your spelling is horrific.  You can run fast, but you can’t kick a ball to save your life.

Get over it. 

You will not win every race.  You will not always get an A.  You will not always be liked by everyone.  The reality is there are some kids out there that are just better at those things than you. 

And you know what, THAT IS OK!

Work hard on things you want to improve (or things that need to be improved).  Sometimes your “best” is not enough to get that trophy and if it is something you really want you may need to work a heck of a lot harder than somebody else to do it.  In some cases… you just can’t.  In some cases…somebody may always be “better” at it than you.

And THAT IS OK.

The lesson my kids will learn is that no matter how good (or horrible) you are at some things in life Mommy and Daddy will always love you.

No matter how cool (or weird) you are you will find GOOD friends eventually that will love you for who you are.

And no matter what choices you make and how often you fail you have an amazing and loving God that cherishes you more than your family or friends can even fathom.

The End...time for my lunch time nap (apparantly I need it).