Sports Equipment for Children
Jen Fox provides advice on the importance of proper sports equipment for Children.
Playing a sport is an excellent way for your children to stay active and healthy. However, as the hopeful parent of future hall-of-fame, you must protect them at all costs. According to Johns Hopkins Medical Centre, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger are injured each year while playing sports or participating in some form of physical activity. Sports are contact sports, meaning the chances of injuries are highly likely. To decrease the chances of your child becoming injured, you must ensure that they are wearing the proper safety gear.
Sports Gear Prevents Injuries
Whether your child is a boxer, baseball player, or soccer player, each sport has a set of requirements regarding safety equipment. Wearing the equipment during practices and games prevent injuries from occurring to some of the most sensitive areas of your child's body. Depending on the type of sport your child plays, the safety equipment could be:
- Shoes that grip the ground (cleats)
- Mouthguards to protect teeth
- Helmets to protect the brain
- Padding to protect knees and elbows
Helmet Safety
Most youth sports teams require that they wear a helmet or protective gear for their head. Brain injuries are often the most complex of all the potential injuries your child could face. As you know, the helmet's purpose is to protect the head. Your head is the most vulnerable part of the body and is subject to injury during practice and the games. It is vital to purchase helmets specific for your child's sport as they are designed to provide a cushion in the areas most subject to be hit during the game.
Shopping tip: Does your kid think that helmets are not cool? The great thing is helmets today are quite different than they used to be, and you can find them in all different colours. Check online and compare brands like Easton, where you can find multicoloured bats to accessories their helmets.
Sports Shoe Safety
Wearing the appropriate sporting shoes are also crucial to your child's safety. For example, if your child play's soccer or baseball, they may be required to wear shoes known as cleats. These shoes are designed to support the players as they run. As these sports can be played on an array of terrains in varying types of weather, it can be easy for them to slip and fall with typical sneakers on. As a result, cleats dig into the ground, preventing them from slipping as often.
Mouth Guard Safety
Mouthguards are also very common requests for physical or contact sports. They protect the mouth and teeth from significant injuries. Your child's dental structure is just beginning to develop at this point. Significant impact on the mouth could result in damage that requires corrective or cosmetic surgery. The most common categories of dental injuries from sports include:
- Fractures – damage to the root, chipped or broken tooth
- Avulsion – The entire tooth, inclusive of the root, has fallen out
- Luxation – the tooth remains in the socket but has been knocked out of place
Additional Padding for the Knees and Elbows
More common than not while playing sports is the risk of injuries to the knees, elbows, and wrists. Protective padding such as the knee, elbow, and wrist pads help to reduce the chances of injuries such as fractures, sprains, cuts, bruises, and burns.
As you can see, each piece of sports equipment required by your child's coach is a necessity and not an option. Failure to find the appropriate gear for the game could result in injuries that could have otherwise been avoided. When shopping for your child's equipment, be sure to purchase a quality brand and the right size to ensure optimal safety as they play.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- FOX, J. (2015) Sports Equipment for Children [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article178.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Jen Fox is a freelance writer.