My Son Wants to Play Football…
His father and I have spent the past few years making him listen to us cheer and hoot at the television during football games. We’ve shouted and jeered and made sure he understood what was going on whenever was possible.
We pause the DVR, replay, walk up to the screen to show him what has happened. We explain rules, and what the referee is talking about regularly. In short, we have created a 7 year old football fan.
Then he whispers to me,”Mom, can you tell Dad I really want to play football?”
What he doesn’t yet know, is that his Dad isn’t his biggest obstacle. I am.
I played football, my high school offered an intramural style football for girls- CONTACT football, not flag football the way they do some places. I know how rough GIRLS were, much less boys. I am a HUGE believer in the importance of sports in the lives of children.
But Football? MY son?
I’d like to start out by saying that the boy seems to have no natural athletic abilitly. He could certainly USE some sports exposure.
But he has this quality that I’m very very proud of………heck, it’s an actual organ in his body.
His brain.
Given the vast amount of information that continues to come forward from the NFL regarding the long term effects of concussion or multiple concussions I am going to be inclined, my young sports enthusiast, to say NO.
You may not play football.
I never thought I’d take such a motherly position. I always rather thought I’d be very proud of any strapping lad of mine who wanted to hoist on some pads and go to it.
But no. Not my son.
What do you think? Do your kids play football? Are you concerned? Would you allow your children to play such a rough contact sport?
Tags: children's sports, concussions, Football
I don’t know. I’m scared.
I jumped in to football around 5th grade and i was fine all the through high school with out a single broke bone. As for the little guy He may be a little young right now but thats ok he has time to grow and get bigger and when that happens if he wants to play put him on the field
I say no to football too but it’s a slippery slope. Though baseball is what he lives for, and soccer is also a favorite, I failed to get my son in anything organized this year. He did 6 weeks of lacrosse this fall and loved it, though it was just learning skills, not playing games. He thinks anything with a ball is where he wants to be, and that includes football.
He’s gonna play something and he’s gonna get injured at some point. I am lucky that his school doesn’t have a football team. They don’t have baseball either, which I think is going to be a bigger deal, but there are club options for baseball.
Sarah, I’m scared too. And I played rugby in college.
i don’t have children but I don’t even like to watch other people’s kids participate in rough sports so I’d probably be in your shoes. However, I do think people do what they want to do at some point – in this case maybe when he’s not a minor child anymore. I also think that it’s possible to get injured sitting still, so one can never tell what will cause problems, but I totally understand your trepidation as his mom.
And the rest of you too. Too bad we all can’t wear helmets everywhere and fit in.