A simple definition of the term competition attributes it to be the rivalry of two or more parties over something. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which coexist in the same environment. For example, animals compete over water supplies, food, and mates. In addition, humans compete for attention, wealth, prestige, and fame. The phenomenon may take different forms and patterns and depending on the nature of these patterns it can be either constructive or destructive.

Since very early on, parents, caregivers, peers and others around, instill in children the value of competing and winning. The child has to be the best in everything – be it his/her class, sports, the neighborhood or social networks; he/she must excel and beat others otherwise he/she will be deprived of rewards, affection and disturbingly so, credibility in the eyes of his/her most loved ones. The pressure to perform builds on and only increases progressively; with each passing year a new milestone to be achieved is added to the wish list. The child must compete, must challenge his/her innate capacities, must do more than his/her potential allows, must do it whether it interests him/her or not or he/she will be a loner, a loser and an outcast. Throughout our growing up years, each one of us has experienced the highs and lows of competition and we have all struggled against benchmarks that were set a little too high for our liking by our own parents and teachers. We hardly got a pat on the back for making the effort and trying our best; only success and failure were duly acknowledged. There are exceptions of course; competition may have a different connotation for those who are naturally gifted but for most of us ordinary beings the term competition denotes perpetual pressure to win.

As stated earlier, the notion of competition starts to take roots from home and it carries on with overpowering manifestations to the school where the labeling starts. He is dull, she does not concentrate, he will always fail, she is brilliant, he is a duffer etc, the list of labels goes on and one is marked for life. These identities stay on even when one grows old; they leave lasting impressions and re-emerge periodically during the span of life depending on the extent of psychological damage or good they have done.

It is said that early years are critical in the formation of intelligence, personality and social behavior; a child who develops well during the early years will have greater opportunities in life, be more productive, and, very likely, to have a better life. Research in child development has also adequately revealed that the early years are very important not only because they lay the basis for development, but also because whatever experiences a child is exposed to during these years has life-long influence.

In a competitive culture, a child is told that it isn't enough to be good – he/she must triumph over others. Success comes to be defined as victory, even though these are really two very different things. If our culture's idea of a fun game is competition, it may be because we haven't tried the alternative. Children can get plenty of exercise without struggling against each other. Cooperative games allow everyone to work together, without creating enemies and facilitates in improving skills and setting challenges.

Even when the child manages to win, the whole affair, psychologically speaking, becomes a vicious circle: The more the child competes, the more he/she needs to feel good about himself/herself. This is not to say that children shouldn't learn discipline and tenacity, that they shouldn't be encouraged to succeed or even have a nodding acquaintance with failure. But none of these requires winning and losing - that is, having to beat other children and worry about being beaten. When classrooms and playing fields are based on cooperation rather than competition, children feel better about themselves. They work with others instead of against them, and their self-esteem doesn't depend on winning a test or sports competition.