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Peer pressure among teens
Peer pressure teenagers problems
Impact of sports on children
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Kids just want to have fun. In a bygone era, parents wanted kids to play sports for fun and camaraderie. However, a new attitude is developing among coaches and parents, which is mopping-up fun from youth sports. Now it's all about the team and the game. The team must win the game at any cost. Kids are playing in a pressure pot full of stress and this is dangerous. They feel over-responsible toward team mates, parents and coaches and in consequence, are playing with chronic pain and even concussions. One-Sport Wonder Kids are deciding by ages 9-10 they want to excel in one sport in order to win a college scholarship. Some are trading the fun and experience of diversifying between basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. for year-round football. As a result, overuse injuries are occurring at an alarming rate among these one-sport wonders. For example, "Little League Elbow" describes overuse injuries in kids who are repetitively throwing the ball. Kids are sustaining severe injuries to their growth plates, neck and spinal cord that could end their career in pro-sports before it begins....
The amount of unnecessary behavior by parents at youth sporting events is increasing rapidly and is ruining the kid's experiences and their passion for the sports. Parents in the United States are becoming more involved in their children's sports than the kids themselves. The reason that so many young American athletes are quitting at such an early age is because their parents are making the sports a joyless experience and are placing too much pressure on the kids to win and to be the best. Parents have become out of control at youth sports and it seems that the kids are showing more civility than the parents these days. Parents need to get back to teaching their kids that sports should be played for fun and not just for showing who's the best.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
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.
Young athletes account for about 4 million injuries a year in the U.S. according to an article published in the Los Angeles Times (2010). US Today reported that approximately 1.35 million student athletes’ injuries were severe enough to send them to the hospital emergency department. Athletic injuries range from the simple ankle strains and sprains to more serious injuries such as: fractures, contusions, abrasions, and even concussions. The unexpected injuries can cause great physical and emotional challenges for these student athletes. Besides having to deal with the physical and emotional stresses they must also have to deal with the financial turmoil the injuries triggered. Recovering from sport injuries require more than undergoing rigorous physical rehabilitation. Physical healing which can take months is quite different from the mental and emotional healing which can take years to recover from.
To start out with, research shows that more kids get injured playing sports than in traffic accidents. In, Pushing Too Hard Too Young” by Jacqueline Stenson,, it claims, “Kids 5-15 had the highest injury rate of all...59.3 episodes per 1,000 people, a fifth of kids lost one or more school days a year because of their complaints. Strains and
Currently in the United States, football is one of the most popular sports played by the youth population. Millions of parents allow their children to play football every year without acknowledging how dangerous the sport can be at their young age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2004 that an estimated 475,000 children under the age of fourteen suffered a traumatic brain injury, and almost 90% of which were treated and released from emergency departments per year (Adirim). Although not all of those injuries were solely from football, it is known that football accounts for some of the highest rates of head injury in youth sports. Also, traumatic brain injury is the leading
When the coach turned his head, the seven-year-old stuck a finger down his throat and made himself vomit. When the coach fumed back, the boy pointed to the ground and told him, “Yes, there it is, Coach. See?” (Tosches A33).It emphasizes the fact that if a child gets hurt once, they will fear the possibility of getting hurt again ,so they try to find excuses to prevent themselves from playing the game.Second,Statsky states how competitive adults have drained the fun out of children's sports and made the game unappealing for children.She cites Martin Rablovsky, a former sports editor for the New York Times says that in all his years of watching young children play organized sports, he has noticed very few of them smiling. “I’ve seen children enjoying a spontaneous pre-practice scrimmage become somber and serious when the coach’s whistle blows,” Rablovsky says. “The spirit of play suddenly disappears, and sport becomes job-like” (qtd in Coakley 94). It shows the fact that competitive adults are oblivious to their actions and don't notice that what they are doing can really affect a child mentally.Third, Statsky is concerned that competitive sports will lower a child's self-esteem and make them lack confidence.’’Like adults, children fear failure, and so even those with good physical skills may stay away because they lack
In “Organized Sports Can Benefit Children,” David Brooks argues that sports are healthy for children, helping them build character and showing them leadership skills. David points out that sports can teach a kid responsibility in a variety of ways. For example, it’s easy to slack off in a classroom full of kids who don’t have much care for their own grades. Some students find disrespecting teachers and talking back to their parents cool and amusing. Teachers don’t take action into this bad behavior and assume its okay because of their young age. “You rarely see a teacher tell a kid to tuck in his shirt or have pride in his appearance, but coaches do it all the time” (Brooks). Coaches expect different from their players. They expect their players to keep a passing grade point average. If their grade point average doesn’t meet the requirements, they are not allowed to play. They want the players to show nothing but respect towards them. Any form of talking back or disrespect can lead to some kind of punishment, like running laps or push-ups. This teaches the players discipline and to treat others with respect.
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
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
Some people may argue that Competitive sports give children many chances to work with a team, and get in shape(Lisa Bigelow). But this is not always true, some coaches and parents push their kid to the edge and can harm them. Over working a child is not good at young ages, because they can only take so much and their body is not fully developed. Teamwork skills aren’t always provided if a coach is making a player the star of the team, some of kids may feel left out and possibly want to quit. Kids that aren’t as athletic as some kids might not be able to physically do what more athletic kids can do, this can make them feel like they aren’t good enough. With coaches pushing kids too hard can get kids to go against each other, potentially causing them to harm one another. Getting kids to going against each other is not good teamwork. Working kids over the limit of what
It is not just the injuries that are playing a major effect in kids, but it is the physical and mental draining that is coming from their parents and coaches. Parents are pushing their kids to do all this extra stuff to make them the best on the team. Gerdy reports, “Youth sports programs are no longer about meeting the educational, development, and recreational needs of children but rather about satisfying ego needs of the adults” (Gerdy). These children no longer have a chance to learn the simply fundamentals because of their parents forcing them to the next level too early. Parents are also causing disturbances during their child’s game. Parent misconduct in youth sports refers to any disruptive, abusive, or violent behavior parents. The article responds, “The main purpose of youth sports, that is, to teach and guide young athletes in skill development in their sport of choice, to provide encouragement and support, to build self-esteem, and to allow children to have fun while exercising” (Atkinson). Parents have begun to promote the total opposite but screaming at their kid to do better instead of encouraging. These violent calls from the parents begin to produce emotional suffering and damage to the child because they begin to think too much about being perfect all the time and not enough about just having fun. Also, when these children are the parents and their kids are playing they will
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
I agree with the point that the focus of sports has shifted just to winning the game as the world has turned into a big rat race where everyone is trying to bring the others down. These types of sports should not be a part of children’s life. They have a hazardous effect on the development of a child’s body and personality. Due to the demanding nature, the children are affected mentally and physically. Their bodies are not developed to take this much of pressure. Jessica puts it rightly when she says that the inability to perform physically leads the children to develop mental health
When a child lacks the natural born talent of athleticism, they can be destroyed emotionally and physically. The 2005 Youth Sports Report Card rated parental behavior and involvement as “unacceptable and needing improvement”(Citizenship Through Sports Alliance,2005). Community sports have “lost their child-centered focus” and has become “too specialized and over interested in parents”(Citizenship Through Sports Alliance,2005). Failing parental expectations, the child will lose any enjoyment felt previously in participation. Their desire to play is diminished, confidence decreases and anxiety overwhelms their innocent minds. Something that was created to add enjoyment and positively influence their life becomes a nightmare that they are unable to cope with. They become humiliated due to inadequately fulfilling their peer 's expectations as well as their