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Social Problem Speech

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Social Problem Speech
Since the first competition ever, first place was awarded gold, second; silver, and third; bronze. There was no participation trophy for trying hard. You were either celebrated for winning, or told to better luck next time.

The problem is not that we are giving participation trophies to kids today, it is what the trophy stands for. It is rewarding kids for something they didn’t achieve. We are acknowledging accomplishments that were never actually accomplished. In a New York Times article, Barbara Reich, a home organizer, says the first thing she throws out when clearing the clutter from someone’s house are the participation trophies that everybody is given.

The creation of the participation trophy generation is a social problem because the Millennial generation, our generation, is growing up lacking essential real world skills; such as the ability to deal with anxiety and overcome adversity. These lack of skills are becoming very prevalent especially as this generation is reaching the work place. Additionally, an article called A Nation of Wimps, from Psychology Today, says that over parenting can program the nervous system to create a lifelong susceptibility to depression.

In this speech, I will first define and describe helicopter parenting, the primary cause of this social problem, along with real world examples happening today. Second, I will discuss the eternal umbilical cord, otherwise known as the cell phone.

Helicopter parenting, also known as hover parenting and more recently occuparenting can best be described as closely monitoring parents, rarely out of reach, and always overly involved in their children’s experiences and adversities. Quick to solve their child’s problems, helicopter parents are creating a void in their child’s life. A void of problem solving and dealing with failure. Take education for example. It is becoming ever so popular for unhappy parents to confront teachers about the less than satisfactory grade their child

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