Did your kids play football? Would you let them?

[Lord Manhammer]

I'm listening to NPR right now as I straighten up the house and they're talking about the trends in kids playing gridiron football. Those with higher incomes have reduced their kids playing football by over 20%. Interestingly, those with a lower income have increased their kids playing football also by over 20%. This is fascinating but not surprising given the high profile cases like Aaron Hernandez. And those from lower income backgrounds see football as a way out. What are your thoughts on kids playing football? I enjoy watching the NFL and sometimes college ball but I sometimes feel conflicted watching people who may eventually have brain injuries in part for my own entertainment.

I would NEVER allow my child to play football or any violent sport for that matter. Fortunately, my kid loves golf and will sometimes watch soccer (football) with me.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Growing up my sons never wanted to play football. Just baseball and basketball. Until my oldest decided he wanted to play in high school. It was his sophmore year that he was playing and suffered a concussion. He decided on his own after that it just wasn't worth it. I was happy with his decision.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

My oldest ds played flag footbal when he was four, I believe. We pretty much put him in every sport... golf, swim, baseball, soccer, basketball, football when he was young to see what he would like. Football wasthe first to drop off. He continued to play soccer until he was 16. It is a notorious sport for head injuries too. He now runs track and cross country exclusively.

My younger ds tried a few different sports when he was young. He played soccer for many many years but now also runs.

If he wanted to play football I would have allowed it, probably, but would not have liked it.

 

[Meriweather]

My son never wanted to play football.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I’ve never had any interest in watching it myself, though I did work for an NFL player for a couple of years. I doubt my kids would ever want to play it (no exposure to it at home and currently no friends who play), but no, I wouldn’t allow it. My city did some parks and rec planning survey a year or two ago asking residents what kind of amenities they want brought to our area and football fields placed last with a fractional percent vote. A technology center for kids to work on STEM projects was voted number 1.

 

[Kitty 34]

Yes. My sons (now 34, 36, and43) all played HS football. Did we let them play? Obviously, we did.

 

[NYCgrrl]

No and no.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our younger son desperately did want to play football, but we didn‘t let him. Then when he was a senior in a new high school, and unbeknown to us, he tried out for football, they must have been desperate, he made the team.

He broke his arm early on, and only played in one game, the final game, when all seniors get in for awhile.

Then he went to college where he played rugby!

He’s 47 now.

 

[BrianL]

It's a complicated issue. I know it has risks, but then again everything does. I have no problem with NFL players who choose to play the game - they are adults and as long as they know and accept the risks, then hey, go for it (I know there was a time when the risks weren't as transparent, which I do believe was wrong). Anyway, with kids it gets a little more complicated. I don't think little kids should be playing full-contact type football. With older kids, it's harder to say. If they do want to play as adults, they have to start younger, so HS football is going to be that entry point. HS kids should at least be able to understand the risks, though they are also not adults. The parents would definitely need to be involved in that. I don't know that I would really encourage it, but also it's hard to stop it if it's something that they really want to do. I guess I'm lucky I don't have kids.

 

[Disneychick13]

I don’t have any sons, but (if I had one) I would honestly not want them to play football. Or really any sport that has a higher likelihood for head and neck injuries.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our younger son desperately did want to play football, but we didn‘t let him. Then when he was a senior in a new high school, and unbeknown to us, he tried out for football, they must have been desperate, he made the team.

He broke his arm early on, and only played in one game, the final game, when all seniors get in for awhile.

Then he went to college where he played rugby!

He’s 47 now.

HS football at our HS is no cut like xc/track, but not everyone plays.
My kids played flag, baseball, basketball, soccer, ice hockey xc, track at some point, but 3 played varsity soccer 4 years in HS, 1 ran xc, 4 ran track. All 3 soccer players had to sit out with concussions.

 

[easyas123]

Both our boys played soccer in elementary, middle, high school & one of them in college. Eldest played lacrosse for a season but didn't really care for it. Both had motorcycles and did a few motocross races. One dabbled in dual-sport racing a time or two and even did that CA to Vegas (I think that was the route/forget the name of the race) race when he was 18 w/ his uncles. Both hunted from the time they could toddle. One of them jumped out of a plane for fun, and they both could & would drive anything they could reach the pedals on including trucks, tractors & heavy equipment.
One injury in all those years, a broken wrist while snowboarding.

Ironically my husband tore up his knee about 16-17 years ago in the 'parents vs. kids' soccer game and had to get surgery shortly after. Guess who just has surgery for the second time YESTERDAY for that injury received while playing against 8 year olds???????

All told, I'm glad lacrosse didn't pan out, and while they really enjoy watching football - neither had interest in playing it. Of course, their high school also didn't have a team! I am very glad the one doing dual sport races decided he was done with road bikes, that is the one thing that never sat well with me.

 

[Allison]

Yes and yes.

 

[Brian Noble]

Those with higher incomes have reduced their kids playing football by over 20%.

In my kids' high school, there was a pretty clear socioeconomic hierarchy to the Fall boys sports.

Tennis at the top
Water Polo
Soccer
Football

There was also crew, but those kids were drawn across a pretty broad swath--that program is nationally ranked and Ann Arbor is nothing if not over-achieving.

I would have let my son play, but as you can imagine youth football in Ann Arbor is a big deal. Even at the grade school level, the local club team practices five days a week, and plays on Saturdays. When he asked to play, we told him what the schedule would be.

Him: "When will I see my friends?"
Me: "The other players will be your friends."

That didn't sound so great to him, so he stuck with other things.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

In my kids' high school, there was a pretty clear socioeconomic hierarchy to the Fall boys sports.

Tennis at the top
Water Polo
Soccer
Football

There was also crew, but those kids were drawn across a pretty broad swath--that program is nationally ranked and Ann Arbor is nothing if not over-achieving.

I would have let my son play, but as you can imagine youth football in Ann Arbor is a big deal. Even at the grade school level, the local club team practices five days a week, and plays on Saturdays. When he asked to play, we told him what the schedule would be.

Him: "When will I see my friends?"
Me: "The other players will be your friends."

That didn't sound so great to him, so he stuck with other things.

I'm originally from Birmingham so I sense what you are saying. I went to a boys prep school in Detroit and while most of the families had money, not all did and there was a similar hierarchy there with golf and tennis at the top.

I can only imagine what football is like at any level in AA. Congrats on your good record though and good luck at the Rose Bowl (I won't talk about Harbough, but it could be worse - you could be a State fan and have Larry Nassar...)

 

[Praying Colonel]

Good article on withholding children from football until they're more developed. Includes quotes from Archie Manning (a former NFL QB and Peyton and Eli's Dad) and Tom Brady's Dad. From the article:

In 2012 a group of researchers at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest put sensors on helmets of 7-year-olds and measured the g-forces of their impacts. They found that their heads accelerating on those thin necks created impacts equal to those of adults, some of them at 40gs.

“It looks like a pillow-fight, but the brain thinks it’s in a war,” says Chris Nowinski, a former Harvard defensive tackle and pro wrestler turned concussion expert. “It’s interesting that we have a national discussion about how dangerous pro and college football is, but we fail to recognize that they are much better protected than children are. Why are we hitting children in the heads hundreds of times a season, without even the protection we give adults?”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...2820aa-2b85-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

Our kids showed no interest in sports generally or football specifically, but I don't believe I would've let them play organized tackle football until they were older.

 

[ElevationNotice]

Don't have any kids.

 

[Brian Noble]

That didn't sound so great to him, so he stuck with other things.

As an aside, he never really played a "violent" sport--soccer and swim/dive. He was a GK, so he would occasionally have to fight for a ball in the air, but mostly that's a non-contact position.

His sister, on the other hand....she was never into competitive youth sports, and tended to be a bit timid. But she was on the swim and dive team in HS, and the girls on the team talked her into playing water polo. She had never seen so much as three seconds of the sport before she went to her first practice. I don't think she had any idea of how dirty things got under the water line. By the time she was a senior, she'd happily drown the girl she was guarding.

I can only imagine what football is like at any level in AA.

Oddly, the three high schools in the city itself are generally not very good, but we are surrounded by awesome programs (Saline, Belleville, Chelsea, ....)

 

[GreatLakes]

My son plays flag football now. He is under the impression he is going to play in college but there is zero chance he will be big enough so I'm going to let genetics work that one out for me.

I would not want him to play actual tackle even as a youth so we will cross that bridge when we get there if he is still interested.

 

[Kitty 34]

I'm originally from Birmingham so I sense what you are saying. I went to a boys prep school in Detroit and while most of the families had money, not all did and there was a similar hierarchy there with golf and tennis at the top.

I can only imagine what football is like at any level in AA. Congrats on your good record though and good luck at the Rose Bowl (I won't talk about Harbough, but it could be worse - you could be a State fan and have Larry Nassar...)

You mean Tucker, right? he was MSU's coach for a bit until he made a few phone calls.......