Do you have concerns with your son(s) playing football?

Have to agree partly with othet poster here. My son will be in 2nd grade next year and looking forward to playing tackle football in 3rd. Statistically speaking your kid is a whole lot more likely to be injured in a bike accident then in football. It doesn't mean a parent doesn't worry, but any time you put your kids on a school bus or they ride their bikes they climb a tree, they walk down the sidewalk there is a chance for injury, anyone keeping there kids out of football do to worry of injury is not helping their child much in my opinion. I think people are trying to lump NFL football and all other football together. When you have a massive NFL lineman at 300+ run into a 200- person the physics are a whole lot different than maybe an 100lb kid running in to a 60 lb kid moving a whole lot slower. Most of the time their are rules limiting how much the kids running the ball can be in pewee sports. Also, the number of practices and exsposure to head trauma is not even comparable. All in all football is a relatively safe sport. The worst injuries I sustained playing sports were in basketball, torn ACL, concusion, head lacerations etc. If you want to look at serious injuries take a look at basketball and compare, yet no one is talking about basketball related injuries. Yes, the concusions in the NFL are a problem and the league is doing what they can now, but lets not get carried away here.
 
Am I concerned that he will get hurt? Of course. I always want what is best for my child. I never want to see any of my children in any pain, or have anything go wrong for them.

But I would be more concerned if my son didn't play any football than if he did play. Life is full of risks taken. I could ensure that my child was never injured only by keeping them locked in a cell with constant supervision. That would make me a horrible parent, so being a good parent is not about just avoiding risks. It is also about making sure they have meaningful experiences that help them grow into a complete adult. From my own experience, I know that football is one of those things that can be very meaningful, even dealing with football injuries.

Side note: I have known parents that wouldn't let their children play football or wrestle because they were worried about injuries. It would be one thing if they didn't have insurance, but they did. They just didn't want to expose their children to the risks associated with those sports. And yet, those kids had cars. The risk of death/injury in a car is exponentially higher than the risk of death/injury in football. If you are concerned with letting children play contact sports, then letting them drive is ridiculous.
 
uihawk82 said:
A football helmet does not stop the brain from crashing into the inside part of the skull. They are trying to make helmets which pad more and maybe create less deceleration.

But if you are running full speed and someone comes full speed at you with a direct helmet to helmet hit the sudden and drastic deceleration of your head does not mean your brain doesnt keep moving forward and hit the skull.

We all know of people, even famous people, who have fallen, hit their head and within a few hours have died because a major artery or vein in the skull was torn.

A football helmet would have to break into a million pieces like the carbon cocoon of a indy car to absorb all the impact.

Bigger padded helmets will help but maybe not that much.
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I appreciate the information.

OTOH, if my son is as slow as I was, very little deceleration will be required. :)
 
Billso said:
5th grade, age 10 for me. And that was 1972.
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It must be a West Branch thing, I grew up in the Quad Cities where we had midget and pee wee tackle football and the only restrictions were age/weight and I am the same age as Jon.
 
Simple answer: No, because my son won't be a *****. I'd only withhold him if he ends up as a little person, or with some other deformity or mental issue, etc.
 
I have a 16 yr old daughter, so football isn't in the plan. But she is an accomplished soccer player. From time to time she says..."You wish I'd been a boy, don't you Dad?...so I could play for IOWA"...somewhat jokingly and sometimes just looking for affirmation.

But at dinner recently, concussions came up. She related a story about a kid on her High School football team having problems in school since being concussed this fall. She said "I'm glad I don't have to make that choice...it's kinda scary"...and "I know a few guys at HHS, who feel the same way...but they don't like to admit it. They're jocks."

Kids are definitely aware of the concussion issue. And some are no doubt conflicted about playing.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I have a 16 yr old daughter, so football isn't in the plan. But she is an accomplished soccer player. From time to time she says..."You wish I'd been a boy, don't you Dad?...so I could play for IOWA"...somewhat jokingly and sometimes just looking for affirmation.

But at dinner recently, concussions came up. She related a story about a kid on her High School football team having problems in school since being concussed this fall. She said "I'm glad I don't have to make that choice...it's kinda scary"...and "I know a few guys at HHS, who feel the same way...but they don't like to admit it. They're jocks."

Kids are definitely aware of the concussion issue. And some are no doubt conflicted about playing.
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She could still play for Iowa.
 
GhostofBTT said:
She could still play for Iowa.
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I'm holding out hope Ghost. Not sure if she's D-1 material, but she's really developing physically, (please don't say it. this is my daughter) , and was MVP of the Soph team last year at a pretty big High School.

Never know.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I'm holding out hope Ghost. Not sure if she's D-1 material, but she's really developing physically, (please don't say it. this is my daughter) , and was MVP of the Soph team last year at a pretty big High School.

Never know.
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If you remember the poster from here Iowa Farm Girl, she was a big time soccer player who played collegiately at Notre Dame.
 
hawkdrummer1 said:
I'm holding out hope Ghost. Not sure if she's D-1 material, but she's really developing physically, (please don't say it. this is my daughter) , and was MVP of the Soph team last year at a pretty big High School.

Never know.
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She's probably aware of the concussion concerns as they relate to soccer (and other sports) as well. That has been a real point of emphasis for coaches, trainers and referees the past couple of years. If there is any question that a player has suffered a concussion, based on criteria we have been given, the player is to leave the field and to not return until they have medical clearance to do so. That applies at all levels -- youth, travel, club, school, amateur, professional.
 
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