Living their dreams

In recent years there has been a proliferation of races for children. I guess the current racing craze has rubbed off on the children or is it? 

Isn't he cute?

I was recently covering an event which had a category for children. Actually it has several categories for children. And I must said it was pure joy watching the cute little kids. 

And then the race starts. And the cute little kids morphed into little devils. The amount of competition among the kids scares me. I see this frequently at the biggest kids race in Singapore, the Cold Storage Kids Run where children trample each other as they race off and nobody stops to help their fallen friends. 

At the recent event that I was taking photo, there wasn't any trampling as it was a sort of triathlon and the children were flagged off in waves but something else strikes me. The intensity in which the children were competing. It was scary. They were pushing themselves so hard it was scary. A few of the kids were sobbing as they were running. And still they ran their heart out.

And behind all these are the "cheerleaders". Without fail at all these kiddie events are the parents. They are there cheering, urging and pushing their children on. I don't see so much vocal support during ladies races. But the amount of cheering frightens me. But I think it put a lot of pressure on the kids to perform well instead of just participating. It was as if the parents are living their dreams through their children. 

Maybe the next time parents sign their children up for a race., they should ponder for a moment. Is it for the child's enjoyment or for themselves?

Incidentally the Cold Storage Kids Run is now open for registration.