Fear Factor

Still can't access blogger.com from home. :o(

Did anyone watch Fear Factor last night? It was a family edition...one parent, one child per team. Some of those teams, I swear I could not tell the child from the parent.
One little girl tried so hard...took an entire 30 minutes to complete a terrifying stunt I probably wouldn't even be brave enough to attmept...and ended up having to leave the game. I felt so bad for her because she tried so hard only to be defeated. She had spirit and just was not going to give up.
There was another team who irritated me to no end. It was a father/son team. They were heckling the other teams all the way through. At one point, when the little girl I mentioned before was almost done with her stunt, the son clapped for her and the father looked at him and asked, "Have you gone soft on me?" He actually ridiculed his own son for showing good sportsmanship! I wanted to wring his neck. They made it through to the last stunt and then lost. When the host asked them, "Are you going to wait and congratulate them on their win?" The father said, "No." Took his son by the shoulder and led him off.
What is that teaching his son? It's sad to think that there are people like that in this world. I know he may be the exception, but it still bothers me. I don't have children, but have nieces and nephews and whenever they are going to compete or take a test I always tell them, "Just do your best. I don't care if you win by a mile or lose by 10 miles. I just want you to have fun and do your best. The important thing is that you're trying." Same thing with school. I tell them, "Try your hardest. If you fail, we'll know what to practice, but you must always do your best."
Each 4th of July, our town has a big celebration. We have booths set up that sell food and toys, races and games for all ages, a parade, and fireworks. For the races and games, all participants used to get $1 just for entering. Before they even left the starting line, they had a crisp, new $1 bill in their hands. I liked that idea. Everyone got something just for trying. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers got an additional money prize, but most kids - especially the ones who were not athletic - appreciated their $1 and couldn't wait to spend it on something good.
I am not saying that kids should be rewarded or motivated with money in everything. I just think kids need to know that it's okay to fail. They need to know what good sportsmanship is. They need to know that win or lose, they are loved, supported, and accepted.