Sam got 3rd place...sorta.

Sam bursted into the warming room today at the ice arena to show me her 3rd place medal!  Apparently, they had competitions to see who could hold up one foot and skate on the other the longest.  I was so proud of her; 3rd place out of 6 kids.  Then she tells me that another girl got 3rd place too.  I was confused.  So I probed Sam and asked if they had tied or something.  No, not at all.  Sam in fact did have more "points" than the other person.  I later found out that there were two 2nd place people too.  That is when it hit me.  EVERYONE GETS A PRIZE!  Heaven forbid there are any losers.  In reality Sam got 5th place, but instead they choose to lie to my daughter.  How is this a good thing?  Sam normally loves ice skating, but recently she has been slacking off.  I asked her if she would not have gotten a medal would she practice more and try harder the next time to maybe achieve a medal; she said yes.  This is the problem with our society.  Our kids are not allowed to experience failure and thus not preparing them for the real world that will be racked with times when they fail!  They will not and are not prepared for how to deal with failing.  A quote from the villain in The Incredibles  sums it up perfectly; "*Everyone* can be super! And when everyone's super--[chuckles evilly] --no one will be."
If you want a good glimpse at the damage this kind of upbringing causes, just watch the auditions to American Idol.  The singers who are outed are flabbergasted.  And yet most leave there making statements on how they will keep trying.  All because someone told them they were not good enough.  They will be forced to either try harder or seek out a different path.  Now at least they know where they stand.  My daughter was cheated of this.  And it puts me in a difficult position.  Do I just go along with the lie or do I get to be the bad guy who tells her she really was in 5th place and her teachers lied to her.  I choose honesty.  No, I don't just tell her she was really in 5th place and make her feel like a looser.  I simply asked her questions and she figured it out.  I know many would argue that it was a trifling matter and I should have just let it go.  I still doubt myself if it was the right choice.   It's my job to prepare my kids for the future.  To ready them for the real world with all it's ups and downs.  So when they lose; they lose graciously and when they succeed they can reap the rewards of their hard work.  Just wish I had coaches to back me up in this.