It's Mr. Rogers' Fault

As I wrote my last post about the dread I feel about moving from T-ball to Coach Pitch to whatever more competitive league follows, I was thinking about a couple of articles recently published in the Wall Street Journal. Jeffrey Zaslow wrote a column titled "Blame It on Mr. Rogers" in which he posits that the culture of entitlement often seen in our children might perhaps be the result of Mr. Rogers' emphasis on the idea that "You are special." (If you find this idea appalling and want to give Mr. Zaslow a piece of your mind, you will apparently have to wait in line. A long one.) In Thursday's Journal, he adds other reasons we may face a sea of entitled young people: indulgent parenting, a consumer culture, citing MTV show "My Super Sweet 16" and Burger King's promise that you can "Have it Your Way," and the self-esteem movement.

So would Mr. Zaslow add LCAA T-ball to his list? I mean, is this not creating children who believe you should and will get a trophy for every sport you play for the rest of your life? That everyone should have equal opportunity to bat and play every position? Hasn't it been proven that a sense of competition is healthy and helps children face adversity when they grow up? Doesn't it promote teamwork? Perhaps moving over to a more competitive league isn't that bad of a thing.

I recognize that this means I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth, but it's my blog, and besides, I can say whatever I want to say - I am entitled!