Childhood is an important developmental phase in people life, in some countries it is also the right moment to push kids to compete against each other; however, it is under debate whether this competition is positive or, on the contrary, harmful. Overall, this early competition is quite dangerous for kids. For instance, in societies such as the japanese one, children not only have to perform well at school, they need also to be the best among their peers. Logically, not everyone can be the best, some of the kids who did well but not enough to be among the best of the class, will feel decouraged. This create a mentality where every mistakes is seen as a failure, and not as a learning experience.
Similarly, in the Netherlands, starting from the last year of primary,following their last year exams, children can only attend certain specific programs in middle school. This means that a kid who performed badly in maths, can attend only schools where maths are not important. At first, it could seem a great thing for kids since they will not be forced to study something that they cannot understand, in reality, these choises trap kids in specific career pathways from a young age. In other words, if you get a bad mark in maths as an 10 years old, you will never have the possibility to even try to become a doctor, or an engineer.
Besides, school performances, sometimes, even in leisure activities such as sports, drama classes, or music, children are pressured to perform better than others. On the one hand, competition is part of our life and a strict teacher can sometimes bring out the best from you, on the other hand certain competition can lead to abusive situations. For example, it happens to attend a match of football, and to hear one parents getting mad because its kid can not score a goal; or classical dancers who are pushed to their limits from teacher.
In conclusion, kids should not be put against each other, in fact this approach is more harmful than anything. Whereas competition is a natural component of our society, children should just be children, and they do not need to compete against each other to perform well, or find their way into the world.