Competition is natural for children

In regard to the Saturday front page article on "Playground Politics," let's drink the Kool-Aid, pass out the participation trophies, put on our robes and jump aboard the KumBaYa-Ya-Sisterhood train to nowhere. We are entitled, right?

Why in the world do we want to "eliminate competition" from our children's lives?

Nobody enjoys seeing young children behave in aggressively competitive ways toward one another, but if we put competition on the list of food allergies and contagious diseases, we are setting children up for failure.

The United States of America operates on a daily basis under two principles which rely upon our natural desire to compete:

1) Democracy -- which requires a majority voice, creative reasoning and tactical negotiation;

2) Capitalism -- all about providing the best choice, the best service for the best value.

Our children all benefit from playground politics.

They learn on their own, without mom's micro-management, to negotiate, avoid conflict, compete, how to win, how to lose, how to handle disappointment, how to help each other, how to work as a team, how to survive on their own.

We can't learn from our mistakes or our shortcomings if we are not allowed to experience failure and disappointment all by ourselves.

Implementing structured ways of play or non-play during recess (which is supposedly free time to play or relax from the day's structure) tells our children that we don't believe in their creativity, their free choice, and we don't believe they can handle disappointment or conflict.

I liken it to participation trophies, which is the ultimate insult to our children. They well know when they lose or make a mistake. When we reward them, we insult their intelligence and confuse them.

If we decide, through our democratic system, of course, that we want to become a soft nation of Kool-Aid drinkers and socialist zombies, then bring on the "Peaceful Playgrounds."

Anne Tolle Waliczek

Barrington