Children Should Not Participate In Sports

In “Children Need to Play, Not Compete” author Jessica Statsky presents her view of how parents should react to situations in sports that involves their children. Statsky states that, “Though many adults regard Little League and Peewee Football as a basic part of childhood, the games are not always joyous ones.” (349) Statsky believes that children between the age of 6 and 12 should not participate in sports like above because it can harm them mentally and physically. In her essay she states several points that support her theory of why children at a young age should not participate in sports. One reason given is because these sports activities lead children into bad actions of physical activity for growing bodies. Statsky states that, “Among athletes age 5 to 14, 28 percent of football players, 25 percent of baseball players, 22 percent of soccer players, 15 percent of basketball players, and 12 percent of softball players were injured while playing their perspective sports.” (350) The author is simply giving several examples of how playing sports at such a young age can …show more content…
The child can simply not enjoy playing sports because of the over competitive parent who pushes through their child’s mind that he or she has to win. Statsky says, “Winning and losing may be an inevitable part of adult life, but they should not be part of child hood. Too much competition too early in life can affect a child’s development.” (351) In addition, to those concerns there are also the concerns about coaches as well putting too much pressure on the children they guide in sports. Both parents and coaches should be educated on how to handle certain situations with children in these different sports. Helping to build them up and support them rather than yelling and tearing the children down. In conclusion, Statsky thinks that few children actually get enjoyment out of playing in sports at a young