Rooting Your Confidence in Recognition

Building a child’s confidence is not as easy as it seems. There are a lot of different factors involved in teaching a young individual how to believe in the skills they possess, and more importantly, teaching kids to like the person that they are becoming. The most important factor is still the type of upbringing the child is exposed to in his or her immediate surroundings; namely, in school and at home. Another factor that many are attributing to confidence-building today is receiving participation awards and other forms of public recognition for a certain skill, sport, community activity, or tournament win.

The Recognition is Rewarding Campaign

The Recognition is Rewarding campaign acknowledges the important role trophies, medals, plaques, ribbons, certificates, and other special awards have on the holistic growth and development of children. While some parents and teachers are cautious about giving too many awards to young children, we strongly believe that nothing in the world can top seeing a child filled with joy and pride after receiving a reward.

Like many things, giving rewards can be misused or abused, and this is how complacency and entitlement start to grow in a child. There needs to be certain socially agreed upon standards when it comes to giving special recognition and awards. Instead of banning rewards altogether, it is better to agree upon the conditions with which rewards should be given.

What skills, activities, sports or events deserve an award?

There is a vast difference between learning how to count from 1 to 100 and learning how to swim 100 meters. If the skill, sport, activity or event asks a child to put in a lot of work throughout a certain period of time, then by all means, a reward should be given. What’s worse than a child expecting a reward is a child who becomes disgruntled for working so hard for practically nothing.

How old should a child be before he or she can receive a reward?

Children need certain cognitive skills to be able to understand the value of hard work and comprehend the necessity of rewarding such hard work. If your 5-year old receives a trophy from a contest, the likelihood of him or her appreciating this symbolic gesture is low. However, if you give your sixth-grader that much coveted blue ribbon for spelling or that world-class trophy for being the best goalie in the soccer league, then you will see the real gleam of victory and pride in their eyes.

The Recognition is Rewarding program aims to bring light to these conditions so more parents, teachers and coaches can analyze what they teach children to expect at home and in school. After all, there is no better way of boosting confidence than being inspired by the sight of your achievement on display.

When should we reward children? 

In a recent survey conducted by the Awards and Personalization Association (APA), participants were asked which activities should children be rewarded for. The results showed that 77% believe that community service and volunteer work should be rewarded, and achievements in academic and scholastic teams got 73% approval. Sports teams and school clubs received a 62-65% vote from the participants.

The participants were also asked how old they thought children should be before it is appropriate for them to receive awards. More than 50% of participants believe that children in elementary school, or children aged 6-11 years old, are already old and mature enough to fully embrace the concept of recognition.

The Recognition is Rewarding campaign will help parents, teachers and coaches give rewards more effectively so all children can comprehend that hard work and rewards go together. If you don’t work hard for something, you’re not going to get anything. However, if you put your mind, body and heart into a certain activity, then you deserve to be recognized.

If your school or sports team is in need of reward materials such as medals, trophies and plaques, you can get in touch with Great Lakes Trophies & Engraving in Garden City, Michigan. With more than 21 years of service in the customized awards industry, no one knows how to make memorable awards better than we do. Call us at 734-266-1815 to know more about our services.

Learn more about the Recognition is Rewarding program on our social media accounts: Facebook Fan Page / Twitter Feed / Google+ Account/Pinterest Board

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