What the World Cup can teach us about raising resilient kids
As millions of fans watch the world's best footballers battle it out in the FIFA World Cup, a CQUniversity educational neuroscience expert says the drive to compete doesn't begin in elite sport – it begins in childhood.
Competition, according to CQUniversity Adjunct Senior Lecturer and educational neuroscience researcher Dr Ragnar Purje, is not something children need to be protected from, but a natural and essential part of healthy development.
Dr Purje said whether children race to be first through a classroom door, compete in backyard games or negotiate the rules of playground play, these everyday experiences help shape critical life skills.
"Competition is part of being human," Dr Purje said.
"Long before children enter organised sport or sit their first school assessment, they're naturally comparing, competing, negotiating and testing themselves against the world around them."
Dr Purje said these behaviours are deeply rooted in human development and supported by neuroscience research showing children strengthen executive function through the choices and challenges they experience during play.
"Children develop resilience, perseverance, self-control, emotional regulation and problem-solving by navigating competition in everyday life," he said.
"When children play, they learn to win, lose, cooperate, resolve conflict and adapt when things don't go their way. Those experiences are fundamental to healthy brain development."
His comments come amid ongoing debate about the role of competition and academic rankings in Australian schools.
Dr Purje said attempts to remove all forms of competition from education overlook an important reality.
“Comparing ourselves with others and striving to improve are universal human behaviours. They've driven personal achievement, scientific discovery and social progress throughout history."
Rather than eliminating competition, Dr Purje said educators and parents should focus on ensuring it occurs in positive, supportive environments where children learn from both success and failure.
"Mistakes are not the opposite of learning – they're part of learning," he said.
"Children don't become resilient because life is made easier for them. They become resilient by working through challenges with appropriate support."
Dr Purje said physical play also provides opportunities for children to develop fairness, empathy, communication and cooperation while strengthening the neural pathways responsible for planning, decision-making and self-regulation.
"Whether it's a game in the backyard, a lunchtime soccer match or simply deciding who gets to go first, children are constantly developing the cognitive and social skills they'll use throughout life," he said.
"Competition, when experienced in healthy ways, isn't something to fear but one of the ways children learn who they are and what they're capable of."
