SELF-ESTEEM
Self-esteem is very important. Children should be raised feeling good about themselves. In order to assure self-esteem in our children we have eliminated failure. Disappointment detracts from one’s self-esteem. Failure leads to anxiety, lethargy, and main-lining heroin.
Today’s children are fortunate in that we have learned the importance of instant gratification and we seek to eliminate failure and disappointment.
When I was a wee lad my Dad used to take me bowling. In those days they had these things called gutters. If you threw the ball poorly it would slide into the gutter and you would hit zero pins. My father never threw a “gutter ball.” I seldom threw anything else. I think the result was it gave me very low self-esteem.
On the few occasions where I did avoid the gutter and knocked down some pins it was very exciting!
I took my youngest son bowling years ago and they have gotten got rid of gutters. Now they raise “bumpers” out of the gutters for little children and errant throws bounce off the bumpers and the ball always knocks over some pins. Children who bowl today don’t even try to throw the ball down the lane; they just wail away at the bumpers and hope for the best. It seems like great fun, except when they only knock down a few pins they mope and whine a lot.
I don’t remember moping and whining.
When I was the same wee lad, my Dad put up a basketball hoop on our driveway. It was regulation height and we used a regulation sized ball. Of course my friends and I couldn’t palm the basketball like the pros and we had to heave it with all we had to reach the basket. We seldom actually put the ball in the basket. I think my self-esteem suffered as a result.
When we did make a basket it was great fun.
I notice kids playing basketball today use a small ball that they can hold with one hand. The basket is lowered to where even the chubby kids can reach up and slam the ball into the hoop. They dunk the ball just like the pros. They hardly ever heave the ball to the basket, they prefer to dunk it. They never miss. Their self-esteem must be very high.
It seems the kids do not play basketball for very long…I guess they get bored with success.
Things are so much better for children today. Training wheels keep them from falling off their bikes, course it seems to take forever before the training wheels come off. No one loses at sports because they don’t keep score. Keeping score just means someone loses. It is apparently more important for no one to lose than it is for anyone to win. If you show up you get a trophy…gee I’m so proud! Just look at that self-esteem. Everyone is on the honor roll. Instead of high grades for high achievement, we have lower expectations and reward any achievement. Self-esteem is just oozing out of today’s children.
Hey, Billy ate a carrot, Jane dunked a basketball, Larry got a trophy, Sally can add, LaMarr hit a ball off a tee, Lucy played a kazoo, and Tommy drew a tree!
Atta boy, atta girl…High Five!
