Childrens Sports Essay
Usually, playing a game is much more fun comparing to practicing professional sports by children. Sports at a younger age are usually enforced by parents and are accompanied with negative physical effects as well as negative psychological effects.
Parents play the main role while assisting their child toward their future . However, there are always present negative physical effects that damage the child. Also, the same are the negative psychological effects that are associated with these sports.Some people might just see the positive side of these sports but there are much more negative things to be mentioned. The ones who introduce their children to sports are most of the time parents. Parents role is to be supportive whether or not their child does well or does poorly. When children burn out of sports, it is usually the fault of the parent putting on too much pressure for instant success instead of allowing for losing to be a learning experience. Sometimes parents at the game yell all the time at their kid, and really get mad at their children if they lose.
Its easy to tell how it affects the kid. He will be so afraid to make a mistake and he will always be listening and looking in stands to the parent. Support is always good, but to live through their child is something parents do too often and is taking things way too far. As Paul R. Strieker says, “Many parents and coaches try to push their youngsters to achieve that extraordinary ability at an even younger age. This approach can be unhealthy and can lead kids to specialize too early in a particular activity.
”(109) Parents often try to be their child’s coach too as well.They are not experts, and can often teach incorrect techniques that make a child less successful in their sport. Knowledge of correct skills and technique is critical for success.
Soccer is an excellent example of how proper skills result in success. According to Keeron J. Stone and Jonathan L. Oliver, “Ultimately, skill to execute a successful pass, dribble with pace and control, or shoot at goal with accuracy, will determine the outcome of a game. “(164) As for the negative physical effects we can mention the overuse injuries and the burnout.
The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics says that: An overuse injury is microtraumatic damage to a bone, muscle, or tendon that has been subjected to repetitive stress without sufficient time to heal or undergo the natural reparative process. The incidence of overuse injuries in the young athlete has paralleled the growth of youth participation in sports. Up to 50% of all injuries seen in pediatric sports medicine are related to overuse. The risks of overuse are more serious in the adolescent athlete for several reasons.The growing bones of the young athlete cannot handle as much stress as the mature bones of adults. For example, a young baseball pitcher who has not yet learned proper throwing mechanics is at risk of traction apophysitis of the medial elbow. In addition, young swimmers may not recognize signs of rotator cuff tendonitis, because they may be unable to cognitively connect vague symptoms, such as fatigue or poor performance, as a sign of injury.
Identifying youth at risk of overuse injuries is the first step to prevention. 4-5) As for The Burnout” or Overtraining syndrome The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics says that: It can be defined as a series of psychological, physiologic, and hormonal changes that result in decreased sports performance. Common manifestations may include chronic muscle or joint pain, personality changes, elevated resting heart rate, and decreased sports performance.
The pediatric athlete may also have fatigue, lack of enthusiasm about practice or competition, or difficulty with successfully completing usual routines. 2-3) As for the psychological effects some might have positive thoughts about that, but usually what comes after is a series of negative effects. Most would agree that kids who play sports quickly learn that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and that this also helps them learn to deal with disappointment and go on, but according to American Academy of Pediatrics usually less motivation, less fun, more frustration, and increased anger follow. (2-3) Additionally, the constant interaction athletes face with peers and coaches can strongly lead to development of the youths interpersonal skills.Sometimes sports are a way for parent and child to bond.
As with everything however, there are some issues to be aware of. One of particular note is poor relationships developing with either coach or parent. Sometimes a coach will be too hard on an athlete, making them feel worthless. With parents, they will sometimes push a child into an activity they really don’t enjoy, or have too great an expectation of performance, leading to burnout and withdrawing from the sport.
As the American Academy of Pediatrics points out, the child might also develop other signs of stress like nightmares, disturbed sleep, and more negativity. 2-3) When it comes to the future of sports in young children there is so much to be done from the parents and coaches in order to make those sports more fun and positive for these young kids. Also, they should try to correctly understands the real consequences of their action and the developing of human body and mind in this early age toward reducing the training and work to the normal limits, in order to avoid the negative consequences that follow including physical and psychological ones.
