Sports

Sports: Do the benefits outweigh the dangers of head injuries?

Studies have shown how repetitive hits to the head, especially if not dealt with properly, have had serious long-term effects. Team sports are, however, essential for a child’s development, as they teach trust, cooperation, discipline, and many other skills. So, children should partake in sports, just with proper protection and certain rules to prevent head injuries in young athletes.

One of the ways I have seen this accomplished is by putting age restrictions on certain actions in games. In soccer, kids are not allowed to head the ball until they reach the age of 13. Rules like these should be implemented in every sport to limit the number of head injuries. Football should not allow tackling or head contact until a certain age.

Proper protective gear is another essential. All teams should have an inspection to make sure that all players have access to the right gear. They should not be able to play if any of that gear does not meet the requirement or if there is a piece of it missing.

If young athletes do get a head injury, they should not be able to play for a certain amount of time. They need to rest and recover before going back to play. As we saw with the mice experiment, repetitive head injuries can add up and lead to serious effects later in life such as memory problems and personality changes.