Sports are a great way for your child to stay active, stay healthy, and build social skills. It’s a good behavior to encourage if you are a parent. However, like many good things in life, practicing sports carries some risks. If you’re worried your child might get hurt while enjoying sports activities, here are some preventive measures you can implement.
1 – Get supervision
Sports are generally safer when kids have adult supervision. An adult can keep an eye out to make sure all the kids are playing safely and enjoying the rules. Having an adult present also helps keep disagreements from breaking down into shouting matches and brawls.
If your kid is new to a sport and you can afford it, it’s a good idea to get them a coach. Beginners are much more prone to injury. Good professionals are aware of that, and they know how to help beginners work their way through the fundamentals in a safe way.
It also helps that coaches and training schools know they might have to answer to a sports injury attorney if they fail to perform their duties properly, as this page shows. As a result, a paid professional will usually be much more systematic and cautious than someone who just knows the sport and wants to teach for free.
2 – Check the playing area
Different sports have different play space requirements, but it’s generally a bad idea to have kids play in areas with uneven or slippery ground. This isn’t a problem when the space is professionally maintained, but your local park or backyard may hide dangers that are not visible from afar.
Take a walk around the play space before the kids are allowed to play. Look for any objects, rocks, terrain irregularities, and other objects that might cause harm.
3 – Get proper footwear
Children can take falls better than adults do, but falling is still dangerous for them, especially if the child is running or if they hit something on the way down. One way to prevent falls is to make sure they have proper footwear for the activity at hand.
Make sure your kid’s shoes provide adequate grip and fit properly. And make sure they know how to tie their laces.
4 – Insist on protective equipment
Children are often annoyed about having to wear protective gear, but there is no getting around it. The right protective gear can greatly reduce the frequency and the severity of injuries. If your kids protest, let them know that they’ll need to wear the same equipment if they want to compete someday, so they might as well use them while practicing.
5 – Mind the weight class
Size is more important in some sports than others. But as a general rule, injuries are more common when there is a large size difference between participants, especially if the sport in question involves a lot of physical contact.
The solution is to try and get your kids to play with kids of a similar size and age. Or if older kids are present, make sure they are mature and experienced enough to go easy on the little ones.
