Participation Trophies

Lately my mom has been babysitting the kids on occasion so Anne and I can act like adults. She enjoys playing with the kids and they love going to see their grandma. The last time they went to visit she decided to break out the old game of checkers that we used to play when we were kids, and teach Griffon how to play. She was nice enough to send him home with it and he came home bragging about how good he was at checkers and begging me to play with him. I don't fault my mom for going easy on him...... that's what grandmas do. Unfortunately for my son I have a different outlook on life (or I'm just a colossal asshole) I don't believe in giving something that isn't earned. Our first game of checkers was an all out beatdown, our second game was a little better, but still really ugly. Here's the thing though, my son didn't give up, and in a very short amount of time he's gotten a heck of a lot better at playing checkers. He still hasn't got a win, but he has improved more than I would have expected in the short amount of time we've played. My son doesn't hate me, my son isn't crushed, I'm sure he isn't going to cry in his room and slit his wrists because I whipped his ass in checkers, but what he is doing is learning a valuable life lesson. He is learning that you have to earn a win, with practice, hard work, and persistence, and when he finally gets a win he is going to get all the pride that comes with knowing he's earned it.

Maybe I'm just a jerk, maybe I'm heartless and someday my son will grow up to hate me. That's the thing about being a parent, its pass or fail, and you only get one chance not to screw it up. I know that its my responsibility to my son, my daughter, and the rest of the world to raise my children to be good hard working adults, and that is what I intend to do. I'm not in the business of being my sons best friend, I'm in the business of being a father, and that is the main reason why this house doesn't believe in participation trophies.