I think it's interesting that something like football is started in 3rd grade...aside from it hardly being developmentally appropriate, I would think some burn out would occur. I realize it's not as many games as baseball/basketball, but still, that's a long time to basically volunteer to put yourself through the rigors of something so physical for so long (if it continues into high school).
Kids playing football
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I think it's interesting that something like football is started in 3rd grade...aside from it hardly being developmentally appropriate, I would think some burn out would occur. I realize it's not as many games as baseball/basketball, but still, that's a long time to basically volunteer to put yourself through the rigors of something so physical for so long (if it continues into high school).
For the parents saying that they would never prevent their child from playing a sport they loved, would anything make you change your mind injury-wise after they began playing? Would 1 concussion change your mind? 1 torn ACL? 2 concussions? 3?
Somewhat serious question . . . I assume all the "No's" in this thread don't watch football on TV?
Or is it more like not wanting your son to be a garbage man, but admitting the world needs garbage men? Or going to strip clubs, but not liking the idea of your daughter becoming a stripper?
Or is it more like not wanting your son to be a garbage man, but admitting the world needs garbage men? Or going to strip clubs, but not liking the idea of your daughter becoming a stripper?
You bring up a valid point about assessing risk. When my first child was born, to avoid SIDS you were supposed to lay them on their stomachs. By the second kid, it was on their sides, and they had special pillow things to keep them from rolling. Several babies down the line, it was on their backs and absolutely no pillows, blankets, bumpers etc. in the crib. As if you could ever get a baby to lie any of those ways all night unless you stay up all night and re-position them when they roll.All these studies and during my child bearing years, the expert opinion changed to literally every possibility.
That's what happens when the current state of the science doesn't fully understand the problem. And I admit that we are at that point now with head injuries. We know they're bad, but science is still trying to separate the correlations from causes and figure out the thresholds for harm. And right now the only way to confirm CTE is through autopsy, for which very few people volunteer. And researchers also need decades long information about activities, which may not be complete or accurate, to get at the root cause. It's a very hard problem to answer. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to make day-to-day decisions based only on what we know so far.
Not everything you read on the internet is true, but most things you read in scientific studies are (unless they're touted by Jenny McCarthy.)
I didn't say that every single football player ends up in a coma or anything, but yes, it's a fact that football is the sport that accounts for about 65% of all high school sports injuries. (That number varies a little depending on source.) The best best helmets still leave a 95% chance of concussion (LINK). Proper form helps a lot, but you're still running at other people while leading with your head.
I've personally only mentioned the NFL this once, not repeatedly - but it's untrue that the older the child, the worse the injury. A study funded by the NFL found that high school football has higher rates of concussion than college. (LINK) Repeated blows to the head over a sustained amount of time, even gentler ones, also take their toll. I get that you are looking at the people who are fine, but there are a lot who aren't.
But we're not debating that in this thread. I'm saying that I don't want my child unnecessarily injured. The risks of football are very substantial and documented, and some don't appear until further down the road - many others aren't documented. I don't only protect my children from things where they might die; I also protect them from real potential harm. I also won't be letting them ride ATVs until they are of age, despite pressure from my father - there are too many documented cases of it going wrong.
I am glad that you find it acceptable for your child to play football, and it's wonderful that you've reviewed your position over time. I will likely do the same, but I see almost no instance in which my opinion will change. And that's fine for our house.
I watch football. I love football. But I don't care about the players the same way I care about my kids. The pros get paid, so I really don't care about them at all besides the general well-being I wish for everyone. I care more about the ISU players because they represent my university and my town (I grew up in Ames), but still they are adults and (should) understand the risks.
Right, because there are lots of opportunities for 100% inexperienced 18 year olds to play football.
I'm talking about small children having knives - they don't have the cognitive capacity to understand the inherent dangers (as a middle-schooler might). Therefore, it's my job as a parent to explain to them first why knives are bad. If they persist in their interest, it's my job at the next step to just protect them from that danger.
I don't think it's helicopter parenting (which is such a crap term, because it's used for everything from just coaching your kid's softball team to doing their homework for them at age 18) to provide limits for your kids. I do think it's important to discuss those limits with them, or else they rebel from them. However, we do have rules in our house. I trust my children's judgment more as they grow (and already do), but I also know that their brains are not fully developed until age 25 (with the judgment center being one of the last to develop). Hence, I will override their decisions if it's truly detrimental to them. I find football to be potentially so.
I also go to Walmart and Burger King but I don't want him manning a cash register or flipping burgers for his whole life, what a terrible example I must be setting.
The kid will be built like me....... he really has no chance at making a team at any age anyways.
Plus he will be too busy studying and playing video games to worry about playing football
Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. But I'm assuming the worst in these scenarios...also, how old is he in this example? What is the situation? What is the sport?
I haven't said no definitively, but I am cautious about it. I love football. And if my son is a garbage man, he'll be the smartest one you've met...and he'll be happy. And if one of my daughters want to be a stripper, that's their call. My goal is to point them in a direction that helps them be what they want and can be...would I be happy with their choices is a different question...but ultimately, their life is their journey.
(I don't like strip clubs, btw)
Angie, I don't think you and Carvers are necessarily on different sides...I think you are just in different stages of parenting, and have kids with different personalities. Parenting isn't "one size fits all", and I know I made my fair share of wrong decisions. My outlook on parenting also morphed considerably from toddler to blended family of teenagers. Right now you appear to lean more toward the protective side, which is absolutely right when your children are toddlers, pre-schoolers, and early elementary age. Carvers appears to be more toward the "they're almost on their own, they'd better be ready" stage of parenting. Neither one of you is more right than the other, because I haven't seen either of you take it to the extremes of "free-range" vs "helicopter". Common sense is the best tool a parent has, IMO.
Don't think that allowing kids to make decisions means they make ALL the decisions, with no input from their parents. I can't speak for Carvers here (although I can kind of guess), but my kids had rules chores and curfews...and suffered consequences for bad decisions. I pulled one son out of wrestling for a month because he thought he could blow off his homework in Spanish class. His GPA was plenty high enough for the school to allow him to participate, but the D in Spanish was definitely NOT high enough for Mom to allow him to participate, especially when it was for something as stupid as not turning in his homework. You'd better believe he started completing his Spanish homework, and did not make that mistake again.
Thats fair enough, after playing from 5-12 grades I understand that football isn't necessarily for everyone.The kid will be built like me....... he really has no chance at making a team at any age anyways.
Plus he will be too busy studying and playing video games to worry about playing football
Never is an absolute I dislike. My son continued with wrestling (see my above post). However, I did pull him from one tournament due to a hard fall that rattled his brain. The next week he was back on the mat.
KC, you and I are old enough to know that parenting teenagers is a whole different beast. Requires manipulation, cajoling, occasional putting your foot down, blind faith, humor, and prayer, depending on the child and the circumstances. But if you expect your teenager to respect you, you better start showing their views some respect too. So I can't imagine not at least hearing a teenager out about a decision such as sports participation.
