Whether children should or should not play competitive sports is a point of disagreement among many parents. Many parents are discussing whether they will let their child play a certain sport.
Competitive sports are a good extracurricular for children because they help children learn important life lessons about teamwork and fair play. Champion gymnast, teacher, and sports coach, Kirk Mango says, "Personally, I believe that a competitive athlete will learn more from their failures than they do from their successes, at least if they push forward using the positive coping skills that should come out of this process. You see, success only tells one where they are currently at, failure tells them what next lies in their path toward athletic
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The educational and policy studies organization Aspen Institute say, "Schools cut recess . . . to their own detriment. Even if kids aren't running, they're still winning. . .. Composites of MRI brain scans of 20 students taking the same test, as measured by University of Illinois researcher, Dr. Chuck Hillman. Dr. Hillman says that the children's brains were more active after taking a 20-minute walk than when they were sitting quietly." In the article "Facts: Sports Activity and Children." ("Facts: Sports Activity and Children,"2015). Moreover, a senior researcher at ESPN the Magazine, Carl Carchia, and director, Center for Teaching and Learning teacher, and University of South Dakota professor, Bruce Kelley, say, "33 percent of kids have restarted a sport they'd quit. Kids remain drawn to sports." ("Hey, data, data, swing!", 2013). This proves that children enjoy sports and that they like playing and being around their friends and competing against new people. Likewise, Kirk Mango, a champion gymnast, teacher, and sports coach, says, "Creating and setting goals is an integral part of being an athlete. They give direction and represent a place in the future where one wants to be. Without them, one is just going through the motions." ("Sports: The Benefits of Competitive Athletic Sports Participation in Today's Sports Climate," 2012). This …show more content…
The claim is that children should play competitive sports. The first reason is that children learn important lessons, this is important because children will need lessons like fair play, teamwork, participation, and how to work effectively. The second reason is that children's grades go up. The children are having better grades because they are more focused. They have a better chance at getting into a good college or getting a scholarship. While it is true that children can get injured while playing, they should still play and take that risk because they learn lessons, grow friendships, and sports help them grow into mature adults. Parents should start playing sports with children, because many parents didn't play sports in school and they may not have learned those lessons, and sports give parents and their children time to bond and just hang out together. Children need to make sure that they are being safe, and that they wear all of the equipment that is needed. If children made sure that they were safe, the injury statistics would go down drastically. Coaches should be sure that they are not pushing the children too hard. If the child is injured the coach should not have that child
These sports are creating an everlasting effect on children which are straining their minds and body. I agree to this point that children are put under so much pressure which can prove to be dangerous in the long run. Children are being pushed to these limits by their coaches and as well as their parents. To prove her point Jessica gave an example of a game where parents started fighting over an irrelevant game of children thus demonstrating the uncivilized behavior in the playing field. These sports are primarily designed for adults and children should be kept at bay. Parents completely ignore the idea that these sports create a negative impact on their
After first reading the essay “Sports Should be Child’s Play,” I believe David Epstein made a valid point when discussing the issue of children participating in competitive sports at a too young of an age. He effectively delivered his argument by giving an appropriate amount of evidence without crowding the piece and losing the reader. There were certain sections of the essay that would have been difficult to understand without context, however Epstein was able to guide the reader and explain the evidence and situation when necessary. The title of the essay drew me in because “child's play” coincides with something that can be easily accomplished and is enjoyable. However sports, at the higher level, are challenging and are required to be taken seriously. If children are playing at competitive level too early in their life, it can cause a loss of enjoyment and be detrimental to their physical and mental health.
One of the many benefits of playing sports is the children will build character. Building character is important because with character they will obtain new friends and develop different skills. Playing sports at a young age can build character in many ways, “Playing sports at a young age enables children to participate in social interactions and build skills such as teamwork, leadership, and responsibility as they learn to work with others to achieve a common goal,” (Aspen Institute). This is a benefit because they will build character from learning how to deal with wins and losses from playing sports. Also, they will develop different skills. Developing different skills will build character because, “numerous positive developmental indicators have been associated with sport participation, including improved self-esteem, emotional regulation, problem-solving, goal attainment, social skills, and academic performance,” (Holt). This shows how when children play sports that some of them acquire different skills than others. Lastly, some of the benefits that the children will receive from playing the sports are obtaining new friends and developing different
In his book, Leonard states, “Many children are exposed to organized competitive sport early in life, and their success and failures may either enhance or jeopardize the self-concepts they develop” (219). As he implies, sports have a major influence on childhood development. Healthy exercise, discipline, time management, and social skills are promoted in sports and cause the success which enhances the child’s self-concepts. Despite arguments from those who tend to be left out when it comes to a child’s sports career, mostly friends from outside of the child’s sport or team, these skills are incredibly valuable in the adult world and I believe that a child benefits exceptionally from learning these characteristics at an early age. When these attributes are developed in a child’s experience of sports, the results can only be positive.
Winning is the main goal in competitive sports, and coaches really press players to do their best, and preferably, to win. According to Livestrong, “children sometimes develop a bad attitude while playing sports when they are frustrated or disappointed. Children may also act in an unsportsmanlike manner when imitating the actions and attitudes of teammates or professional athletes”(Richards, Rebekah. "How to Deal With Your Kid's Bad Attitude in Sports."LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 11 July 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.). Children can develop these bad habits, and they can not only be rude during games and practices, but they can show these habits outside of sports. This will cause a hard time for children in school, at home, and in the real world, in general. Parents can also develop poor attitude when their child’s team loses or isn’t playing very well. This will cause a hard time for other parents of the sports team. According to NBC News, “Parents -- and coaches -- who push too hard too young, particularly when they emphasize winning above all else, can easily wipe out a child’s motivation to play, says Dr. Henry Goitz, chief of sports medicine at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo.” (Stenson, Jacqueline. "Pushing Too Hard Too Young." NBCNews.com. NBCUniversal News Group, 29 Apr. 2004. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.). Sometimes it’s not the
Many parents will argue about whether kids should be allowed to play sports at such a young age. In my opinion, I think kids shouldn’t be allowed to play sports at a young age. When they grow older, I think that kids should be allowed to play sports. When a young athlete gets injured, coaches may not be trained for an injury and the child can suffer more serious injuries just from that. Kids want to skip practice so they will often fake an injury, serious coaches will use shaming techniques and call athletes “ladies” or man up, and athletes might not have the best protective gear, making them more likely to have a concussion. Worst of all, coaches
Metzl, Jordan D., and Carol Shookhoff. "Playing Sports Benefits Children." Child Athletes, edited by Christine Watkins, Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010487202/OVIC?u=pub_ovrc&xid=df3755ce. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017. Originally published in The Young Athelete: A Sports Doctor's Complete Guide for Parents, Little, Brown and Company, 2002.
Youth sports are a staple in nearly every American’s childhood as highlighted in “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” by Jessica Statsky. Statsky makes two contentions in favor of this argument: first, that the participants of youth sports are not physically and psychologically ready, and second, that the mentality of win or lose is more harmful than helpful during the formative years of a child’s development. I agree with Statsky that children’s sports are too often over competitive, but some competition is beneficial to their development.
While it may seem that sports are good for young children, but in reality, it is bad for the young children. Children shouldn’t enroll into sports at a young age, here are my reason why. One example is the Intense Training Schedules, Pressure to win and be the best, and the Painful Injuries. It’s not surprising that some athletes simply burn out on their sport. But what is shocking is that many kids are burning out from their sport at a young age, sometimes as early as 9 or 10.
Kids who are pushed into playing multiple sports over multiple sports seasons have a much higher chance of getting injured, as a result of overuse of their bodies. Kids should only be pushed in a sport if they want to play not because their parents want to. In many cases parents determine whether to push the children or not. Kids who train too much are much more susceptible to serious injuries such as torn ACLs which require long periods of rehabilitation (Chronicle). In the article “Sports Should be Fun not Forced” the author states that there is a 30% increase in boys and a 56% increase in girls with fractured forearms as a direct result of overuse. Sports specialization can also result in injuries, In the article “Is it Wise to Specialize?” ,Dr Neeru Jayanthi watched 1200 athletes who “specialized” in a sport and discovered that kids who specialize in sports have a 70% to 93% more likely chance of getting hurt of a child who plays multiple sports (Sagas) . Injuries are inevitable in sports, however, by parents having their kids overwork they are enhancing their children’s chances of getting hurt. Sports injuries are never good and they can deter kids away from sports. Parents need to realize this fact and alleviate a child’s opportunity to get an injury. In our current society athletes are becoming bigger, faster and stronger, and that athletes seem to need to
According to statistics gathered by youth sports organizations, “Up to 50 million kids play youth sports in America, and 73 percent of those who begin playing a sport quit before they turn 13” (Binns). The children could have quit because they did not like the disappointment of losing, or because they are exhausted from their parents pushing them too hard. But parents have their reasons for pushing their children into sports. “Studies show that kids who play sports are less likely to become obese, abuse drugs or alcohol or to perform poorly in school” (McCormick). If children are not active, then they will most likely become overweight, and if they have nothing to do in their pastime, they may turn to drugs and alcohol, which usually leads to a decrease in grades in school.
youth sports [were] the one haven for good sportsmanship," says Darrell Burnett, a clinical child psychologist and youth sports psychologist. "Not anymore. It's not just a game anymore." With technology (etc) distracting our children with violence and so on, we cannot afford to ruin what sports may do for them. With sports being just one of the few things left that can contribute to success in life, education, and health, parents need not to put any sort of unnecessary pressure on their kids at such a young age, or any age for that matter, ever.
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).
But that alone won’t justify that competitive sports are good for children, but there’s evidence that sports do help. Sports help assist with facing the growing obesity issue in our country, children get to learn new social and mental skills as well as hone the skills they already know, and sports are a good way for children to get away from electronics. Those are some good reasons to do competitive sports so let’s see how they help. Of course, obesity can be cut down in a variety of different ways and sports is definitely one of those ways to help. According to an article from The New York Times by Anahad O’Connor, he wrote about a study
The main goals behind Sport Education are to help students become knowledgeable about different sports and activities to the point where they can participate in these outside of the classroom to stay active. Also it teaches execution and strategies and encourages competitiveness. It is important for kids to be competitive because they will have to be in life and it will teach the importance of winning and losing the right way. “Sports offer kids a great chance to work cooperatively toward a common goal. And working coope...