Physical activity is enhancing well-being and favors the balanced development of a child. In the last two decades, competitive sports participation has become an established feature of childhood in Western countries. The past decade has seen an explosion in the number of children participating in team and solo sports. At a young age, sport is for enjoyment and for health and personal development. This balance changes as a competitive element intervenes.
Are you living in the back of a mini-van driving your children from event to event?
If you have a school-aged child, you probably know that there are tons of activities and sports for them to be involved in. Many times, parents go overboard, or their children do, signing up for everything they can possibly jam into a day and living in the back of a mini-van driving from event to event. Though it may give us a sense of pride to look at our little over-achievers excelling in several different sports and activities and filling our walls up with trophies, plaques and photos, too many activities can really stress a child out and isn’t school stressful enough?
If you have found yourself missing one child’s event for another or are getting frazzled yourself, it may be time to wonder what it is doing to your child. Children can excel in sports or activities like scouts and school at the same time.
Since there are many seasons of sports, a good rule to follow is two activities at a time, one activity that lasts all year like boy scouts, gymnastics, piano lessons, etc. and one sport. Usually sports don’t overlap too much as they are played in different times of the year, if your child likes to play more than one he probably can. Two activities may sound like not enough, but your child will be better able to focus on those two activities and give more energy to school and plain old being a kid.
Give support and love, but never push and don’t let them take on more than they can handle. Physical injury is an inherent risk in sports participation and, to a certain extent, must be considered an inevitable cost of athletic training and competition. However, coaches and parents can minimize the risk of injury by ensuring the proper selection of sporting events, using appropriate equipment, enforcing rules, using safe playing conditions and providing adequate supervision. Although injuries in young athletes are sustained, it is important to balance the negative effects of sports injuries with the many social, psychological and health benefits that a serious commitment to sport brings.
Sports injuries in children and adolescents are limited to mild contusions, sprains and strains. Any sport can cause musculoskeletal injuries, and the specific pattern and location of injuries of each sport should be known by health professionals. Training programs and performance standards should take into account the biological age of the participants, and their physical and psychological immaturity, more than their chronological age.
A deep knowledge of the different aspects of training, including duration, intensity, frequency and recovery, is needed to avoid serious damage to the musculoskeletal system of athletic children. Protect your children. Help them selecting only a few sports at a time.