The grab highlighted a section of a newspaper story with child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, basically saying children are going soft.

We're mollycoddling a generation by making sport non-competitive.

"It's part of the wussification of an entire generation." Dr Carr-Gregg is quoted.

There's no scoring, ladders or finals in Auskick competitions and a number of junior soccer grades are the same.

While Country Rugby League officials have conducted in-depth research that's set to result in Group 10's junior league under 10s competition to go non-competitive for the first time in recent memory come 2020.

If that's successful, then expect to see that form of competition continue to rise up the grades too.

And, yes, just about every kid at an athletics carnival receives a ribbon.

But none of this is to, as Dr Carr-Gregg puts it, aid the wussification of our kids.

No, it's all to protect parents from themselves - they're going mad.

Go to any junior sporting competition, any code, any day of the weekend, and there will be parents lining fences watching their kids take part in junior sport.

But right about the time junior sport becomes competitive some parents start to get carried away.

They'll yell at officials - often kids themselves - yell at the opposition - yep, also kids - and in some cases yell at little Johnny's teammates, too.

You see, when junior sport starts to become competitive it also loses its essence - a means for our kids to stay active and have fun with their mates.

Why? Because parents start to take things way too seriously.

And then kids leave.

Are we really going to dub this generation 'wusses' because they don't want to put up with overbearing parents on the sidelines?

I agree with Dr Carr-Gregg in some respects.

Competition is crucial for any child's development. Learning to lose is often as important as it is learning how to win graciously.

But parents need to rein it in on the sidelines and realise it's just a game, a game for our children.

Until that happens the only 'wusses' are those prepared to belittle an entire generation for doing nothing more than what is quintessentially Australian - having some fun with your mates.