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Probably not. No hockey, either.
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@HLK208: DH shattered his hip playing HS football and he still seems to have endless positive memories about it.
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@MrsSCB: It's definetly hard if you're in an area like we are to avoid the topic. We're actually more nervous about him getting into motocross, though. My BIL competed most of his life and that shizz is beyond terrifying. I watched a kid blow all his teeth out and one get airlifted. And I've only been to 2 races. It's also a popular sport around here, unfortunately.
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If he wants to. But we're a hockey family.
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Well, it doesn't look like we're going to have a boy, so this is only hypothetical, but probably not. I used to work in a pediatric head injury clinic, so any sport where there's a relatively high risk of traumatic brain injury would be something I would discourage. That being said, if he was really passionate about it and I was comfortable with the coach and program, it wouldn't be completely off the table.
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@jedeve: I played soccer most of my childhood and never got a concussion or remember anyone else getting one. By headers, do you mean heading the ball?
I'm torn on the football thing. I don't care for the sport and we'll encourage other sports if he wants to be active. But I hate to flat out refuse something he might try for a year or two and get bored with.
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@BananaPancakes: a friend of mine's husband races motorcycles and its a scary freaking sport. He even does ice races! Plus it's super expensive!!!
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If he wants to, sure.
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No. I'm generally a fan of letting kids pursue their interests but not to the extent that they could be hurt in the long term because of it so no football for us.
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No way. DH is a huge football fan but he agrees that he doesn't want our DS playing. The studies coming out on the lasting impacts of concussions are too scary for us to feel comfortable with it. Of course there are other ways you can get concussions, but the risk of concussion in football is far, far higher than in most other sports (for example, basketball, which DH, his brothers, and I all played through high school).
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If we had a boy, we would strongly discourage it. My parents discouraged it in my brother and he never played.
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I would probably let him. You can get really severe injuries from almost all contact sports (and even noncontact sports!).
It would be stupid for me to ask him to take up soccer over football because I don't want him to get injured? The injuries *might* be different, but they can all be very severe. I will be happy that he's into physically activity and just hope that he is well protected and careful.
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@ShootingStar: female soccer players have the most concussions of any athletes, behind football players. And there is some evidence that even without concussions, the repeated force of heading the ball can cause brain damage.
I'm sure we will sign them up for youth soccer, but it's definitely something I'm going to keep my eye on!
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If we have a boy, he can play whatever he wants. My uncle was a professional football player, he's had his hip replaced at 50 and both knees replaced as well. He said he wouldn't change it for anything, those are his best memories out on the field, part of a team.
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I played high school football and loved it. I did get some concussions though, and kept playing (didn't know better). Hope that the culture changes - and the equipment too - so that kids can play contact sports safely.
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If any future son really wants to, we'll entertain the thought, but both DH and I would prefer to steer him in another direction. We love football too, but there is a lot of research out there about the number of cases of brain injury and dementia that worries me.
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I'm in the wait-and-see camp. If the attitudes towards head injuries changes, and protection gets better, I will consider it. If the status quo remains, I would seriously try to steer him in another direction. I don't think I'd ever outright forbid it, though, unless the program where we live has a terrible track record (and it does not).
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If I had a child who wanted to, I'd educate them really seriously about the research coming out about the long term impacts of football trauma, and try to talk them out of it. If they were very serious about it, I'd let them try it. If they wanted to do it as a younger child, I'd make sure the program took the risks of hits VERY seriously.
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This is an interesting topic of conversation. Where we live, football is a way of life. It's very Friday Night Life here!
My brother played soccer his entire life, and got a severe injury in college that ended his professional career. With that said, I'm not sure if the danger of a sport would deter us from allowing our child to play - there are potential dangers in all sports!
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If they wanted to, I would let them. We're actually hoping that H gets into wrestling, biking, MMA, or running.
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I honestly haven't even thought about it given that we're not a super athletic family. I guess I would have to wait and see how the game has evolved/ what new safety measures are in place by the time he's old enough to play.
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I have to add, even though football is a rough sport, DH always talks about the life long values that football taught him and how he felt a sense of brotherhood with his teammates (which was huge because he had a rough childhood). There are definitely benefits to playing.
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I think it depends on the culture. Like, football around here is not the religion it is in other places, so no one I know experienced the pressure to downplay their injuries or play through concussions. It's just another kids sport. Assuming it stays that way, I'd probably be ok with it.
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We don't have a son, but I'm hoping my kids avoid certain sports/activities and football is one of them.
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@.twist.: ditto
I would not limit him from playing anything. Every sport has a risk. Heck driving him to a chess match has risks.
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I don't have a son but I'd let him play football if he wanted to. If my daughters want to play hockey they will, just like I did. I'm not against letting my kids try sports and activities. In fact I think it's important.
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Tackle football? No way.
We are big football fans, and DH played in high school, and although I think "most people" who played casually (i.e., not at college level) are fine, there is too much research now about brain injury, even for high school athletes. There was a college-aged man up north somewhere (I can't remember exactly), I think it was earlier this year, who killed himself, and he had the same chronic traumatic encephalopathy that they have seen in NFL players - and he only played high school.
That being said, I really think that because of the research and the studies that are being done, the game is going to be drastically different by the time my child would be old enough to play.
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DH played all the way through college and he does not want our son to play football because the way the game is played now is totally different from when he was a kid. He said when he was in high school they were taught how to avoid injury and play smart and now it's just about getting as huge as you can get and hitting as hard as you can. He thinks it's just reckless. His cousin who played in high school recently was doing dead lift competitions on the team as a freshman and they were pulling over 500 pounds and what not. DH believes that's just going to get these kids to damage their bodies before they mature - and that's before the contact injuries.
We would much prefer our son to play hockey if he wanted a contact type sport.
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I really really don't want them too.
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I would absolutely not. I even struggle with our support of college and pro football as fans given the information about long term injuries. I was a big athlete in high school and I had my share of physical injuries which I agree are part of sports. What scares me so much about football is the long term lasting effects on your ability to cognitively function, which can't necessarily be seen or predicted in the moment. I would also say no to hockey for that reason as well.
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@jedeve: Yes, I have heard soccer is the "most dangerous" sport. Now, I'm not sure according to what standards, but I have witnessed my brother's team and some of my friends sustain some serious injuries from soccer.
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Yes! If he is doing well in school and is interested, then he can play any sport he wants.
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We only have a girl, but if we have a boy probably not. My brother has a head injury so these things scare me.
DH and I also debate cheerleading. There is some really interesting stuff about the lack of safety regulations in cheerleading because it isn't acknowledged as a sport. By a lot of measures, it is considered to be more dangerous than football. I say no - push her into dancing or gymnastics if she shows interest in cheerleading, but DH says we check out the safety regulations where she's cheering.
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@MrsADS: I agree. Yes you can get injured doing anything, but brain injuries affect a lot more than your body. The depression former NFL players have had to deal with is so devastating. We have always been big football fans, but have really been struggling with how we feel watching it on an ethical level.
@Mrs. Coral: my sister tore both her ACLs in high school soccer.
I have major issues with youth sports in America. Youth sports are more popular and more competitive than ever, but we still have a huge obesity epidemic. Young children are being selected at an early age to specialize in a sport and their families spend $1000s on multiple leagues, equipment, the kids suffer repetitive stress injuries before maturity. And the rest of kids are left behind.
I think schools should be focusing more on making sure ALL kids are active, healthy, learning teamwork and getting lots of outdoor time rather than having the best (insert sport here) program. //end rant
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I wouldn't forbid it if it was his dream/passion, but I don't think I'll encourage it. We love watching football, but it's definitely dangerous. My husband is 5'8, so I don't think it'll ever be an issue.
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Football isn't big around here, so I don't anticipate this being an issue, but I'd definitely let my kid play hockey which I suppose isn't any safer.
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I have girls, but no, I wouldn't.
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I'm not going to set hard and fast boundaries on this sort of thing but I'm also not going to encourage my son to play football, if that makes sense.
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