Let me preface my comment by saying that I am not against participation awards for younger kids, as I agree it is very beneficial for them to be supported and praised at a young age.
Where I start to take issue is when mediocrity is accepted, or for example when parents are told their children should be held back a grade, yet the parents force their kids into the next grade, where the cycle of mediocre achievement will continue because they didn't learn the acceptable skill set to allow them to succeed, but were told "you tried, you failed, no worries, no consequences."
The real world doesn't work like that.
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