In March of 2024, the NFL unanimously approved the removal of the hip-drop tackle, one of the most effective methods of tackling a player. The NBA has begun to call fouls on almost any contact, no matter how minimal. Sports have become so paranoid about injuries that they have lost value for one of their key components: the ability to be physically stronger than your opponent. This trend in sports represents a larger trend in society. Parents and teachers have begun to over-nurture children and prioritize their happiness and safety at the expense of their motivation, work ethic, and grit. Parents and sports need to prioritize physical and mental toughness to ensure that the younger generation has a better chance at being successful.

Young sports fans prefer to watch the NBA and NFL. On instagram, which is primarily used by the youth, both leagues have amassed at least five times as many followers as other leagues like the NHL. This discrepancy incites a big issue with the influence athletes have on children. The NFL, as mentioned earlier, has put a focus on preventing hard contact between players. The NBA consistently allows players to sit out games just because they don’t feel like playing. These athletes set a bad example. Kids look up to athletes because they are living their dreams and getting paid a ton of money to play sports. Because of this, kids think they need to act like athletes to be successful. Kids see football and basketball players and think that they don’t need to be physically strong or always work when required to be successful. They lose value for physical toughness and become lazy. Both kids and other sports leagues need to look towards the NHL to regain value for toughness. Hockey players are allowed to hit each other hard and fight, and they take advantage of this opportunity. Hockey crowds often chant at opposing goalies, trying to get them to make mental mistakes. Hockey players will do everything in their power to play every game, even playing with a broken hand like TJ Oshie of the Washington Capitals did last month. If you do not have an extreme amount of physical and mental toughness, you cannot play hockey. Similarly to basketball, young hockey fans are likely to be inspired by the behaviors of players. They are likely to value toughness and develop a mindset that allows them to push through obstacles. If popular sports leagues began to value toughness in the same way the NHL does, it will make the younger generation both physically and mentally stronger.

Strength is a good thing to develop due to its health benefits, and it can also be a good indicator of a person’s success. Developing strength requires a lot of hard work and determination, virtues that carry beyond the realm of exercise. They allow a person to be successful in life. A lot of modern parents and teachers have begun to prioritize the happiness of children over the development of grit. In my school, some teachers only implement deadlines as suggestions and grade very easily. I’ve seen classmates become lazy, not paying attention in class and putting off homework until the end of the semester. Parents giving their children too much praise in an attempt to make them happier has a similar effect. The book NurtureShock explores this concept, using a study to connect overpraise to preventing a child from developing motivation and persistence. Modern parents and teachers prevent children from developing key aspects of a successful person. No matter what route a person takes with their life, they will face challenges. To be successful, they need the ability to overcome challenges. By coddling children, parents and teachers are making it even more difficult for children to be able to overcome challenges in the future. The younger generation is lazy. 

Society has lost value for toughness. In both sports and nurturing, people have begun to prioritize happiness and safety over mental and physical strength. Happiness and safety are important, but we need to rediscover a balance between them and toughness. Without developing virtues such as hard work, resilience, and determination, the younger generation will have difficulty dealing with the challenges they will inevitably face later in life. We need to stop coddling children. We need to ensure that children develop toughness. If we don’t, the younger generation will remain lazy and are less likely to have success in life.