Hellobee Boards

I am really uncomfortable with football for kids in general after reading several different reports on concussions - I'd have to investigate further if my kid of either gender wanted to play! I definitely don't want to be 'over protective' but brain injuries scare me.

With that being said, I'd definitely encourage and support our kids playing or performing or participating in sports and activities that are typically steered in the other gender direction.

And I am in awe of that little girl, I can't imagine the self confidence she is building Neat story.

I'm not against kids playing against their own gender and this little "sweet feet" sure is cute! But as I read the article, I would be against it in THIS case. It said she is not even 60lbs at 9 y/o and playing against boys 2 years older than her, including one that's 150lbs called "The Tank". I mean, that is more than I weigh (heck, it's more than some men that I know weigh!) Sure, she is super fast so probably hasn't been tackled or knocked down, etc., by other players yet, but I think at some point she could get seriously hurt.
DH thinks it's cute and would be OK with it and support it, but I would want her to play something with less contact with opponents of such different size. maybe just me, but I'd have major reservations.

@scg00387: i agree. i don't think i'd let either gender play football!

but, i'd love to get all my kids to dance and play sports, regardless of gender!

@mrscowgirl we have football fans/former players on both sides of our family.. so potential for tesnion! I'm hoping it stays a non issue and our kid(s) don't want to play to begin with LOL

@Arden: I read that gymnastics causes a huge amount of serious injuries! On my phone now tho, so no sources to link to...

I played football in high school and it was an amazing experience. I don't think I'd allow pee wee ball, but would research concussions stats if the kids wanted to play in high school.

One thing I learned playing sports is that if you fear injury and are tentative, you will likely get hurt. If you play without fear, then things tend to go your way. It was a good life lesson!

@mrbee for me, it's not the injury rate - it is the type of injury. I know girls' soccer has a high brain injury rate as well... http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6039a1.htm?s_cid=mm6039a1_w

I do think that personal experience will color anyone's decision as well - I broke my back sledding in a freak accident in college and there's no way I could get near a snowy hill without losing my lunch over the memory. But, I will let my husband take our kid(s) sledding and know that he'll be more proactive because he was with me during that whole incident

Also, it depends on the sport/person. I was a horseback rider and being thoughtful and tentative about risk/injury and 'how to fall properly' kept me a lot safer than kids who were bolder and rode 'without fear' (at least in my opinion!).

Hubs is a former pro football player. There is no way that we wouldn't let our kids of either gender play football if they wanted to. But I would want to make sure it was a controlled environment. I trust my husband to know enough about the sport and what situations are safe and what situations are dangerous. Obviously accidents happen and you can never make a completely safe environment... but that's the case in any sport. I was an extremely dedicated dancer throughout my childhood and ended up very badly injuring my foot at the age of 12 and it ended my dancing future.

In the particular situation from this article my concern is the much larger boys she's playing against. Pee Wee football should be grouped by size, not by age. Bump that 150lb kid up to the middle school team for the safety of him and those around him!!

@mrbee: My husband is always reminding me that when kids know what they are doing and aren't hesitant they are much less likely to get hurt. This is why he strongly believes that if our kids want to play football he would prefer they start early so they know how to give and take a hit properly.