1. I want him to follow his dreams
It’s not about me, it’s about him. Here’s how I see it: I will support my son whatever after-school activities he decides to get involved in—whether it’s theater, football or cooking classes. I will not force him to play football, and I will never say no. I believe a healthy part of growing up is trying new things and discovering what it is that you’re most passionate about. I don’t want to inhibit his imagination, but at the same time, yes I will still be a parent. Part of my responsibility as a mom is to be hands-on and make sure that whatever he chooses is indeed safe and performed properly. I would never send my son to a cooking class unattended with knives, and I would never send him out on a football field without prior knowledge of the coaching program. Our obligation as parents is to watch over our children as they make their own life choices.
2. Football safety has come a long way
Many of you are probably thinking: How can I subject my son to something so violent? Yes, concussions are possible but football safety has come a long way as far as equipment is concerned. Thanks to technological advancements, better research and safety regulations, the number of concussions per year among youth athletes are going down. According to the CDC there were 120 sports-related deaths of young athletes from 2008 to 2009; 50 in 2010; and 40 in 2011. Those numbers sound scary, but let’s put them in perspective. Based on the National MCH Center for Child Death Review in 2010, 4,419 children were killed in car accidents, 1,097 from drowning, and 838 due to poisoning. Another concern: the heat and dehydration issue. Yes, this is real and yes, it’s scary, but football isn’t the only sport that has kids outside for hours running around in the middle of the summer. Kids go to band camp, cheerleading practice and kick line sessions—and they’re often outside dancing, jumping and pushing themselves in the heat, too. The hope is that teachers and coaches make sure they have plenty of breaks, liquids and shade. At the end of the day, I’m not going to prevent my son from doing something he loves due to fear of the unknown. That in itself is parallelizing.
3. It encourages kids to work hard
I didn’t grow up with family myself, and I had to find ways to put myself through college to get where I am today, so I can understand personally how hard it can be to get a quality education in order to succeed in life. Many kids don’t play for the dream of the NFL, they play for the dream of a scholarship to a great college. The NFL is just a bonus. But pushing yourself to be the best, working hard to get somewhere and understanding that goal and striving to achieve it? Is that a bad lesson to teach our children? Sports shows children that you won’t always be handed things—that if you want something, you have to work hard to get it. Not everyone gets a trophy at the end.
4. It teaches teamwork and sportsmanship
Football gives kids a chance to work with others to achieve a goal and how to earn the right of a win that isn’t handed to them. It also teaches them about the feeling of failure. It’s a proven fact that failure is more powerful than success—it’s how you learn how to achieve greatness. If we don’t let our kids fail, how will they ever know how to succeed?
5. They need role models
While I would never condone the negative behavior exhibited by some football players over the years, I do stand by the fact that many of the athletes and coaches can be looked at as role models—especially for children (and there are many of them) who don’t have positive males in their lives. (Coaches can often help fill this gap. Take Tiki Barber, for example. He didn’t grow up with a father, and he credits his coach with helping to mold him to greatness.) A lot of professional players also give back to organizations and non-profits that are near and dear to their hearts. Jay Cutler, who suffers from diabetes himself, sends kids who also have the disease to camp, and donates $1,000 for every touchdown (and $100 for every completed pass) to the Touchdowns for Diabetes program. David Garrard donated $10,000 for every touchdown he had as the Jaguars’ quarterback to the the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, and now runs his own foundation for children. There is good in everything, and sometimes, as parents, we need to comb through the negativity to find it.
What is your stand? Will you let your son play football, or any sport for that matter?
This article was originally posted on MommyNearest.com.
