Hypersensitivity...

[tracilicious]

Yeah, I grew up with competition as well. I enjoy board games and various other forms of competition, but I still remember how much musical chairs sucked. The competition of our youths and the competition of today seems completely different, though. Parents push their kids to be the best from an insanely young age. I just don't get it. I won't shield my kids from competition, but I see no reason to push them into it either.

I disagree pretty much completely with everything my parents did. I'm ok in spite of being raised by them, not because of it. I see this as a benefit in some ways, as it's a fresh start on thinking about ways I want to raise my kids. In general, I think you can make loads of mistakes and still have productive adults. I still have ideals though. There is an entire body of research to back up that competition has the opposite effect of what we desire in kids. I'll see if it's available online when I have more time tonight.