In some cultures, children are encouraged to compete against each other. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?

Globally, parents are increasingly seen inculcating a competitive attitude amongst their offspring . In some parts of the world, children are being pegged against their peers by their teachers, right from a very young
age
.
This
essay will highlight the pros and the cons of
this
approach.
To begin
with, children tend to learn a lot when they see someone of their
age
doing better than them.
In addition
to
this
, their parents encourage
this
to evoke clarity in their thought process of what they want to achieve as they grow up.
For example
, when I took my 3-year-old niece to a pool for the
first
time, she observed that many of her counterparts were able to swim with ease.
This
got her excited and she wanted to learn swimming
thereafter
. In another instance, my 8-year-old nephew was highly motivated seeing one of his friends winning a science quiz at his school and
thereafter
, he started developing an immense amount of interest in a wide range of topics related to science.
Thus
, the ability to acquire a skillset and develop a clear vision early on in their lives are the key takeaways, when children are encouraged by their wards to compete against each other.
On the other hand
, by pegging their offspring against each other, parents tend to exert mental stress on them.
Moreover
, a child might not be able to enjoy his childhood when he / she is constantly being compared to others.
For instance
, due to societal pressure, many adolescents are forced to prepare for a career in engineering right from the
age
of 10.
As a result
, they are exposed to concepts that are beyond their comprehension and eventually, they feel burnt out. In another instance, my cousin brother who was differently-abled, was not able to play and socialize with his peers since he was constantly compared with them who were far more intelligent than him.
Hence
, teenagers are often subjected to anxiety and they tend to miss out on enjoying their childhood when constantly compared to their counterparts. To conclude, young minds are constantly being evaluated
with
Change preposition
by
show examples
their peers by their elders and their teachers alike.
This
essay highlighted the 2 main benefits of
this
approach which includes picking up skillsets and developing a clear thought process right from a very young
age
.
This
essay
also
focussed on the drawbacks of
this
modus operandi which are twofold: subjection to constant stress and not allowing a child to enjoy his childhood the way he / she wants to.
Submitted by abhinaba.de on

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Answer the 'Advantages and Disadvantages' topic

IELTS advantages and disadvantages questions normally give you a statement and ask you to comment on the advantages and disadvantages of that statement.

Answer structure for the type of essay

  • Introduction
  • Body paragraph 1 – advantages
  • Body paragraph 2 – disadvantages
  • Conclusion

Examples to start your body paragraph:

  • The main advantage is...
  • The disadvantage of this...
  • The main benefit...
  • Despite these advantages...
  • One possible drawback...

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