Some people think that a sense of competition in children should be encouraged. Others believe that children who are taught to co-operate rather than compete become more useful adults.

In our society, many people believe that competition is a vital component in establishing a positive personality and behaviour. Parents for instance, always say that life is a constant battle and in order to become successful, training children to become competitive in the early stage of their lives will be helpful. However, some argue that competition is not that beneficial and might cause negative behaviours to children. In this essay, I will closely examine both views, and would state my own opinion regarding the matter. On the first side of the argument, people argue that competition is advantageous. In their point of view, structuring an environment under a context of competition will be challenging and will establish the need to strive and work harder to attain a particular goal that many aims. Therefore, competition enhances motivation and gives a sense of fulfilment. For instance, children in nursery schools join different contests and compete with other children. They try to do their best and maximises their resources to win the competition because of the reward that they may get from their parents or teachers. On the other hand, some people believe that the drawbacks outweigh the positive effects of competition and teaching the child to cooperate are better. They explain that cooperation allows children a chance to understand and adjust to the needs of other children, hence, training them to become more sensitive individuals in the future. For example, in our home, I have never felt that my mum encouraged competition between me and my younger sister. She always says that each has her own unique talents and skills that should be enhanced and be shared to one another. Hence, every time that we need to do some task, we would rather help one another than to compete. In summary, establishing a competitive and cooperative environment has its own merits. However, in my opinion, teaching children to cooperate is more beneficial in honing a mature and useful individual.