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Should kids be involved in competitive sports
Should kids compete in sports
Should kids be in competitive sports
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Name Subject Date Should Children Participate in Competitive Sports at an Early Age? Many American parents struggle to answer the puzzling question of what the appropriate age children should start to participate in competitive sports. A subject like this is puzzling because there are many issues that must be addressed, because it is controversial. Some American parents push their children too far, too young. The average American child usually will start to participate actively in competitive sports between the ages of six and twelve and can be unhealthy to a child’s development (CWG 131). The question at what age a child should start, has a different answer for each individual child.
Parents often fail to realize that their child may not be physically ready for competitive sports, even though the child is ready. I believe that a child should participate in sports only if he is wanting too participate and is not pushed by their parents. Every parent has a different way of looking at, if their child is ready to start. If a six year little boy wanted to start playing football, the child may not be fully capable of handling such strength and tension that might cause a life long injury (Koppett 294). Some parents may think he is ready, but is probably not. Determining whether or not a child is ready for competitiv!
e sports can sometimes be difficult to answer, because to determine if they are ready a child must be mentally ready also. Sports not only take physical strength, but a child must have psychological capacity to get them through such strenuous activity. A child may sometimes become scared when participating in sports. For example, A mother of an eight-year-old Peewee Football player explained, "The kids get so scared. They get hit once and they don’t want anything to do with football anymore. They’ll sit on the bench and pretend their leg hurts…"(qtd.
In Tosched A32). This quote is a true statement because if a six-year-old child is playing peewee football with an eight-year-old, the eight-year old is a lot bigger that the six year old is and he could cause physical hurt to the six-year-olds tiny body. The psychological part of the story would be that the child would be so scared that he might get hurt which causes physical hurt as well as mental hurt and may scar the ! child for the rest of their life, when that child could of been the next pro- football player of the next century.
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.
Children who are active recklessly engage in activities where injuries can occur. Nobody can predict when or how seriously anybody will get injured during an activity, however, the risks of children playing tackle football is prevalent where the dangers are imminent. The game of tackle football on a youth level is dangerous for children since they are developing physically and mentally. According to an article from The Atlantic, “America’s most dangerous football is in the peewee leagues, not the National Football League” (Barra, 2013). According to a journal article, “sports injuries account for approximately 23% of pediatric emergency department injury related visits” (Podberesky, Unsell & Anton, 2009). “Of these sports injury-related
In the United States today the age for a kid to start playing competitive sports continues to get lower and lower. Parents in America have started to get their children involved in sports at a much earlier age than they used to, hoping that their child will be the next superstar. Parents are placing too much emphasis on winning and being the best, instead of teaching their children how to have fun. Parents in the U.S. are also placing too much pressure on their kids to be the best. Parents in America are becoming much too involved in youth sports and are starting to get out of control, sometimes even resorting to violence and vulgarity.
In Jessica Statsky’s article, “Children Need to Play, Not Compete’’ points out how competitive sports are not fit for children from ages 8-12,due to the fact that it could trigger both their physical and mental health. First,Statsky elaborates on the idea of children faking an injury due to the fear of getting hurt.She cites a mother of an eight-year-old Peewee Football player,who says “The kids get so scared. They get hit once and they don’t want anything to do with football anymore. They’ll sit on the bench and pretend their leg hurts…” (qtd in Tosches). Some children are driven to even more desperate measures. For example, in one Peewee Football game, a reporter watched the following scene as a player took himself out of the game:“Coach,
Not only do we know the effects of playing football at a young age, we also have real life stories that have occured to real people. For example, In 2006 a 13 year old named Zachary Lystatdt’s head hit the ground in a routine tackle. He was in pain, so the coach took him out of the game for two plays. He returned to the game and on the last play he collapsed. Zachary was rushed to the hospital and was required to have emergency neurosurgery. After this life changing surgery, 9 months later he was finally able to communicate. Now, he is still learning how to walk (Hamblin, James. “Football Alters the Brains of Kids as Young as 8.”)This story sets an example of why children should not be able to play contact sports until adulthood. Unfortunately, this is not the only sad story about a child who has had life changing effects from playing
Every sport has its tricks and ways of doing things the right way. You can assure anyone that the sport their child is playing is safe, because there is always a stronger, bigger, faster player than them. Personally, I believe football is a demanding sport that requires a lot of strength, and stamina. If you read the article “Hard Knocks” by Alan Schwarz, it gives a brief story about a young football player. “The autopsy showed that his brain was in the early stage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as C.T.E.” Many football players die from this condition.
More specifically, children are also increasingly pressured--again, usually by parents and coaches--to specialize in one sport and to play it year-round, often on several different teams (Perry). Now, if sports specialization is such a great idea, then why are kids being “pressured”? As stated before, sports specialization can result in severe injury or even retirement from sports all together. Evidently, parents would not want to risk their athlete’s entire athletic career just because of an overuse injury. Knowing this, a diversity in sports activities is the solution to the problem. Additionally, a specialization in sports can lead to the young athlete not experiencing a sport that he or she may truly enjoy in their life. If a parent already makes a child decide on a sport to play, how will the child know if that is the sport they truly want to participate in? As the child ages, they could realize that the sport they play now is not one that they love anymore, so they could just quit. Deciding at such a young age is not only a hasty decision, but also a terrible one. Finally, this specialization can also create social problems. If a child is already so competitively involved in a sport, then their social lives and relationships with friends are at risk. The clear choice here is to let the child live a normal life by allowing them to make friends and play, rather than taking over their lives with competitive
(Callender, n.d.). With this participation gradually increasing in the U.S. adolescents, sport specialization including year-round sport specific training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport is also claimed to be increasing in frequency in predolescent children across the world (Mostafavifar, n.d.). Children have been involved in little leagues since the 1800’s, and with the rising problems of obesity in today’s children, I believe it is important to encourage involvement in physical activity. This could be either a positive or negative viewpoint on early sport specialization, depending on how it is looked at. It is estimated that between 18 and 28 million American children are to be involved in some type of organized sports participation.
Participating in a sport at an early age can be essential to the overall growth process during a child’s upbringing. Whether the participation is through some sort of organized league or just getting together amongst friends and playing, the lessons learned from this can help teach these kids and provide a positive message to them as they develop. There is a certain point, however, when organized sports can hinder progress, which is when adults get too involved and forget about the underlying reason to why they are helping. While adult involvement is necessary, adult involvement can sometimes send the wrong message to children when they try to make participation become more than just about fun and learning. According to Coakley (2009), “organized sports are worth the effort put forth by adults, as long as they do what is in the best interest of their children and put that thought ahead of their own agenda” (Coakley, p. 151). This is a valid argument because once adults put themselves in front of the children and their values, it needs to be re-evaluated as to why they first got involved in the beginning. Partaking in organized sport and activity from a young age can be beneficial to the overall development of children, as long as decisions actions are made in the best interest of the children and not stemming from ulterior motives of adults.
Football today is very dangerous for young children to play today. Injuries in the sport vary from a minor injury , like a concussion , to a major injury such as CTE , a brain disease that effects the mental and physical movements. Having said this , Young children's bodies aren't developed fully enough to take on head on contact like an old fully developed specimen. Football is so dangerous that parents have recommended that children stay away from the sport due to the kids having a higher chance of going to emergency room.
Sports are a popular pastime among all ages and types of people. People not only participate in them for fun, but also for money, physical fitness, rush of competition, and for many other personal reasons. Playing sports is especially common among young people in schools. Athletics are great and enjoyable for many reasons, but there can be a point where sports participation can go too far and become negative for children and adults. Sports specialization for young people is an increasing trend that results in sports having a negative impact on individuals and society.
These days, there is too much pressure on children who participate in organized sports because of the unnecessary parental involvement they experience. A growing concern amongst those involved in youth sports is that certain aspects of parental involvement become detrimental to the development and experiences of young athletes. Early emphasis on winning, making money, and the disruption of education can exceedingly affect ones desire to further participate in a sport later on in his/her life.
One of the assumptions Statsky makes is that, “One readily understandable danger of overly competitive sports is that they entice children into physical actions that are bad for growing bodies” (627). This statement rests on the assumption that children would not perform any “physical actions that are bad for growing bodies” (Statsky 627) without organized competitive sports. This is simply untrue. Children jump from swings, climb trees, skateboard, “pop wheelies” and otherwise put themselves in physical peril with alarming regularity. Children’s free and unorganized play often results in broken bones and stitches, even for the most timid children.
Competitive sports are a very hot topic right now, and people have different views on children participating in them. Some may think that competitive sports help children to be healthier, because they are very active during practices and games. Although this is a good reason, sports can lead to concussions and other dangerous injuries. The truth of the matter is that sports can be very dangerous, and they can lead to many other problems. Children shouldn’t be playing competitive sports because they can get concussions or other dangerous injuries, they can develop excessive amounts of stress, and they can develop poor attitude.
Rosewater, Ann. "Playing Well - Organized Sports and the Health of Children and Youth." Up2Us - Home. Up2Us, May 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.