Close to 6 million high school students play team sports, and another 20 million children take part in recreational or competitive sports out of school. Sports activities help children stay fit, develop self-confidence, social skills and provide them with a sense of well being. Sports participation is also an important part of learning how to build team skills. Exercise may reduce the chances of obesity, which is becoming more common in children. Keeping active may also lessen a person's risk of diabetes, a disease that is sometimes associated with a lack of exercise and poor eating habits. But playing a sport also brings the risk of injury. Each year, over 775,000 children under the age of 15 years are treated in hospital emergency departments for sports injuries. In fact, sports injuries are the number one reason for emergency department visits among children. About 80 percent of these injuries are from playing football, basketball, baseball, or soccer. Many of these injuries can be prevented if parents get involved. As a parent, it is important for you to match your child to the right sport, and not force him into an activity that he or she may not like or be capable of doing.

How Do You Know If Your Child Is Ready To Play A Sport?

It is recommended that you wait until your child is six years old to play team sports. Most children younger than that don't understand the concept of team play. With older children, you should decide if it's OK for them to play based on their physical and emotional development and their eagerness to play. Your child's doctor can help you make this decision. Remember, pushing children to play a sport before they're ready, or when they don't want to, can increase their chances of getting hurt. Most sports-related injuries in children, about two-thirds of them are sprains (involving ligaments, which connect one bone to another) and strains (involving muscles). Only 5 percent of sports injuries involve broken bones. The majority of injuries are mild, but they can cause problems for both children and their parents during the healing process. And if not allowed to heal properly, a minor injury can become a more serious one that interferes with proper growth and causes life-long problems.

Tips For Preventing Sports Injuries

You may not be able to protect your child from all sports injuries, but there are some things you can do to help prevent them:

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