Why do American children participate in so many adult-run activities outside of the home, especially when family time is so scarce? By analyzing the roots of these competitive afterschool activities and their contemporary effects, Playing to Win contextualizes elementary school-age children's activities, and suggests they have become proving grounds for success in the tournament of life—especially when it comes to coveted admission to elite universities, and beyond.

In offering a behind-the-scenes look at how "Tiger Moms" evolve, Playing to Win introduces concepts like competitive kid capital, the carving up of honor, and pink warrior girls. Perfect for those interested in childhood and family, education, gender, and inequality, Playing to Win details the structures shaping American children's lives as they learn how to play to win.

Introduction: Play to Win

1. Outside Class: A History of American Children’s Competitive Activities

2. More than Playing Around: Studying Competitive Childhoods

3. Cultivating Competitive Kid Capital: Generalist and Specialist Parents Speak

4. Pink Girls and Ball Guys? Gender and Competitive Children’s Activities

5. Carving Up Honor: Organiz ing and Profiting from the Creation of Competitive Kid Capital

6. Trophies, Triumphs, and Tears: Competitive Kids in Action

Conclusion: The Road Ahead for My Competitive Kids

Appendix: Questioning Kids: Experiences from Fieldwork and Interviews

Notes

Works Cited

Index