What's the safest sport for kids?

[Anonymous]

Other than chess. Swimming? Golf? Tennis?

I heard golf can give people a bad back later in life.

[Anonymous]

This post makes me sad

[Anonymous]

I mean, just steer clear of football, hockey, and lacrosse and you'll be fine. Driving in a car to sports practice is the worst thing you can do.

[Anonymous]

A) Chess isn't a sport

B) what do you mean by safe?

Keep them away from tackle football, and you're fine.

[Anonymous]

Folk dancing. Good cardio, weight doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post makes me sad

Why does this question make you sad? My parents couldn't afford signing me up for sports as a kid. Now that's sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post makes me sad

Why does this question make you sad? My parents couldn't afford signing me up for sports as a kid. Now that's sad.

It's sad because there is a child that will miss out on some life experiences because their parent is unable to assess risk, where safety (or the illusion of safety) has become the most sacred value.

Imagine not getting a hit in little league, or kicking a soccer ball, or shooting a free throw, because your parents are too focused on "safety"

[Anonymous]

Swimming. Low impact, non-contact. The most common injuries are overuse injuries caused by poor form. Get private lessons or join a year-round club to get bad habits quashed early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, just steer clear of football, hockey, and lacrosse and you'll be fine. Driving in a car to sports practice is the worst thing you can do.

+1. We are choosy about which sports and activities we sign our kids up for and take into account safety, the culture of the support, the cost of playing long enough to know if you like it (anything at a high level gets pricier, but we wanted sports that were really accessible at lower levels so our kids could do it for years before deciding if they wanted to really commit to it). But that still leaves TONS of sports and activities.

We ruled out football, hockey, gymnastics, and baseball due to injury risk, specifically risk of head injury. Our kids still do tons of sports -- soccer, tennis, cross-country, dance, swimming, basketball, tae kwon do. They all carry some risk of injury, but so does going hiking, playing in the park, or riding a bike. But it's lower than for the sports we ruled out, and the injuries that do crop up are more likely to be from overuse (which is controllable) than from impact (which is not). That's not a big deal. Teach your kids to take care of their bodies, stretch, rest, and remind them that no game or practice is more important than their overall well being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, just steer clear of football, hockey, and lacrosse and you'll be fine. Driving in a car to sports practice is the worst thing you can do.

My kid plays this exactly trifecta. The only injuries he's had so far have been from hobby sports - freestyle skiing and mountain biking. I never intended to allow any of these sports (started out with figure skating, tennis and swimming), but kids end up wanting to play the sports their friends play and they stick with the sports they are good at. It's not as easy to engineer their childhood as I thought when I was a younger parent.

[Anonymous]

badminton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post makes me sad

Why does this question make you sad? My parents couldn't afford signing me up for sports as a kid. Now that's sad.

It's sad because there is a child that will miss out on some life experiences because their parent is unable to assess risk, where safety (or the illusion of safety) has become the most sacred value.

Imagine not getting a hit in little league, or kicking a soccer ball, or shooting a free throw, because your parents are too focused on "safety"

Who says the kids need to know why they are steered towards a different sport? I never was in little league never played a soccer or basketball game, because I loved dancing and reading and playing sports in an unstructured manner - like throwing baskets in my driveway.

[Anonymous]

Tennis is safe, especially for kids. It can be hard on the knees for older adults.
My teen son also runs track, which is safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, just steer clear of football, hockey, and lacrosse and you'll be fine. Driving in a car to sports practice is the worst thing you can do.

+1. We are choosy about which sports and activities we sign our kids up for and take into account safety, the culture of the support, the cost of playing long enough to know if you like it (anything at a high level gets pricier, but we wanted sports that were really accessible at lower levels so our kids could do it for years before deciding if they wanted to really commit to it). But that still leaves TONS of sports and activities.

We ruled out football, hockey, gymnastics, and baseball due to injury risk, specifically risk of head injury. Our kids still do tons of sports -- soccer, tennis, cross-country, dance, swimming, basketball, tae kwon do. They all carry some risk of injury, but so does going hiking, playing in the park, or riding a bike. But it's lower than for the sports we ruled out, and the injuries that do crop up are more likely to be from overuse (which is controllable) than from impact (which is not). That's not a big deal. Teach your kids to take care of their bodies, stretch, rest, and remind them that no game or practice is more important than their overall well being.

You ruled out baseball but kept soccer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, just steer clear of football, hockey, and lacrosse and you'll be fine. Driving in a car to sports practice is the worst thing you can do.

+1. We are choosy about which sports and activities we sign our kids up for and take into account safety, the culture of the support, the cost of playing long enough to know if you like it (anything at a high level gets pricier, but we wanted sports that were really accessible at lower levels so our kids could do it for years before deciding if they wanted to really commit to it). But that still leaves TONS of sports and activities.

We ruled out football, hockey, gymnastics, and baseball due to injury risk, specifically risk of head injury. Our kids still do tons of sports -- soccer, tennis, cross-country, dance, swimming, basketball, tae kwon do. They all carry some risk of injury, but so does going hiking, playing in the park, or riding a bike. But it's lower than for the sports we ruled out, and the injuries that do crop up are more likely to be from overuse (which is controllable) than from impact (which is not). That's not a big deal. Teach your kids to take care of their bodies, stretch, rest, and remind them that no game or practice is more important than their overall well being.

You ruled out baseball but kept soccer?

That’s what I was thinking too! My son plays travel baseball and Little League and has never been hit on the head. Not saying it doesn’t happen but I’d imagine concussions from soccer are a lot more frequent than getting beaned in baseball.