Did your kids play football? Would you let them?

[Pea-n-Me]

I’m 43 years old and have never had a concussion. I’m starting to think I’ve been living my life wrong. (<— that’s me having my first concussion.)

Lol.

We tend to think of them as being sort of dramatic, but they can happen insidiously, also, and a person may not even know they have one. I’d hit my head on a piece of equipment while working and although it hurt, I never thought “concussion”. Until the next day I went to the movies to see a Star Wars film and at the beginning, when the words go by, I thought my head was going to explode! I wound up at Urgent Care and got diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. It got a little scary because my normally-great vision went into the toilet and for the first time ever, I had difficulty seeing. And other fun stuff. Thankfully, symptoms eventually resolved completely but it took a couple of months.

I‘ve seen a LOT of head injuries where concussion is never diagnosed, when you KNOW it had to happen. (Elementary, but it’s when the head takes a hit and the brain, as a result, hits the side of the skull and “bruises”.) I remember falling off my best friend’s front porch when I was little and hitting my head really badly, no diagnosis then. I also dove into a pool and hit my head on the bottom, no diagnosis then. Granted, that was a long time ago. But not so long ago, my mother was in her bathroom and fell forward and hit her head really hard on the side of her toilet. By the time I got into her bathroom, she already had a large “egg” on her forehead. In the ER we realized why she fell - she was in a second degree heart block with a heart rate in the 40s, and that bought her a pacemaker. However, I asked about her concussion in the hospital - “What concussion?” No one paid any attention whatsoever to what surely was a concussion. This happens frequently, I think.

So maybe you’ve had one but didn’t know it?

 

[SpaceMan5]

Football is a big thing in our area of WA. My son played in grade school for 3 years and suffered a concussion and he decided on his own that football wasn't for him which was good with me and my DW.

The emphasis on proper tackling and after concussion protocols are great but still doesn't do a whole in preventing them in the heat of the action.

 

[mamamary]

When my son was young he wanted to play most sports. Football always started the first week of August and that was when we always went on vacation so we never signed him up for that. By the time he got into high school he had no desire to start with a new sport. Thinking back I’m glad but I assume I would have been ok if he wanted to.

 

[MamaMermaid]

My dad played college ball and broke his back. He suffered his whole life. I hope my son (who is built just like his Papa) doesn't want to play. My son is enrolled in swim and I hope he sticks with that, lol.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

So maybe you’ve had one but didn’t know it?

Anything’s possible, although I can’t think of any time in my life where I’ve hit my head in any significant way.

 

[footballmouse]

My oldest son never had any interest in playing football. He started with soccer when he was 3 years old and has never looked back. He's now 29 and still plays.

The other two boys both played football starting in kindergarten. My middle son played all through school, my youngest switched to soccer in the 6th grade.

My middle son suffered a concussion in the 6th grade during a practice. He sat out his required time and went back to playing.

 

[wenrob]

Knowing what we know now about CTE absolutely not. Fortunately DS had zero interest so we never had to have that conversation. I imagine it’s a difficult choice for parents who have kids who have the drive, talent and passion for it. My FB and IG feed are full of friends kids with injuries and surgeries from contact sports the effects of which will most likely be with them for the rest of their lives. It’s something that makes me feel conflicted because on one hand those kids LOVE what they’re doing but on the other as a parent you obviously don’t want your kids hurt. Tough call for sure and easy for me to say a hard no when my kids have never been interested.

That said, all three of my younger brothers played high school football and I don’t recall any serious injuries. But it was a different time and protocols were vastly different. There probably were and they just played through it. Back then someone shined a flashlight in your eyes and held up two fingers. If your weren’t the star of the show you sat out the rest of the game but if you were first string, the guy they depended on you played on.

Lol.

We tend to think of them as being sort of dramatic, but they can happen insidiously, also, and a person may not even know they have one. I’d hit my head on a piece of equipment while working and although it hurt, I never thought “concussion”. Until the next day I went to the movies to see a Star Wars film and at the beginning, when the words go by, I thought my head was going to explode! I wound up at Urgent Care and got diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. It got a little scary because my normally-great vision went into the toilet and for the first time ever, I had difficulty seeing. And other fun stuff. Thankfully, symptoms eventually resolved completely but it took a couple of months.

I‘ve seen a LOT of head injuries where concussion is never diagnosed, when you KNOW it had to happen. (Elementary, but it’s when the head takes a hit and the brain, as a result, hits the side of the skull and “bruises”.) I remember falling off my best friend’s front porch when I was little and hitting my head really badly, no diagnosis then. I also dove into a pool and hit my head on the bottom, no diagnosis then. Granted, that was a long time ago. But not so long ago, my mother was in her bathroom and fell forward and hit her head really hard on the side of her toilet. By the time I got into her bathroom, she already had a large “egg” on her forehead. In the ER we realized why she fell - she was in a second degree heart block with a heart rate in the 40s, and that bought her a pacemaker. However, I asked about her concussion in the hospital - “What concussion?” No one paid any attention whatsoever to what surely was a concussion. This happens frequently, I think.

So maybe you’ve had one but didn’t know it?

I’ve only been officially diagnosed with a concussion once but I’m positive there have been many more. I was thirteen in a vehicle with no seatbelts and my little brother on my lap. We were T boned on my side and I smacked my head on the dash ending up with two black eyes and a goose egg on my forehead. The only reason they took me to get checked out is because I lost consciousness and my uncle was an X ray tech. I have a feeling if he hadn’t been they would have skipped that. I don’t recall my mom or brother being checked out at all. I was sent home and they kept me awake all night and that was it. No restrictions and no follow up. I think about it now and wonder what the hell they were thinking. That it hasn’t got much better thirty plus years later is disheartening.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Did your kids play football? Would you let them?​

Can't read all the replies right this minute, but my own answers are no and no. - DS never asked, and I probably would have discouraged it if he had. I don't find the dangers to be worth the benefits.

 

[dez1978]

Both of my boys play. They started flag in 1st grade and tackle in 3rd. My youngest is the kid who lives for football. Always in the yard throwing the ball, or kicking or running plays. Of course I worry about them. But so far, knock on wood, the only time either of them have gotten a concussion is in art class of all places lol. Tripped and smacked his head on the floor.

They also wrestle. Truth be told, I worry more about concussions there as they don't have any head protection at all.

I will say that helmets and coaching have come a long way in the last several years. There are now things that clip on the back of helmets that detect the hits and if it is hard enough that could cause a concussion it changes color. There are helmets with bluetooth things that alert coaches to hits so they can be pulled out and evaluated. Those things, along with coaches teaching proper tackling go a long way. Of course those things don't always prevent concussions, but they do go a long way towards detecting them and helping kids and parents get the proper treatement, or recovery time.

 

[jo-jo]

Both of my boys play. They started flag in 1st grade and tackle in 3rd. My youngest is the kid who lives for football. Always in the yard throwing the ball, or kicking or running plays. Of course I worry about them. But so far, knock on wood, the only time either of them have gotten a concussion is in art class of all places lol. Tripped and smacked his head on the floor.

They also wrestle. Truth be told, I worry more about concussions there as they don't have any head protection at all.

I will say that helmets and coaching have come a long way in the last several years. There are now things that clip on the back of helmets that detect the hits and if it is hard enough that could cause a concussion it changes color. There are helmets with bluetooth things that alert coaches to hits so they can be pulled out and evaluated. Those things, along with coaches teaching proper tackling go a long way. Of course those things don't always prevent concussions, but they do go a long way towards detecting them and helping kids and parents get the proper treatement, or recovery time.

My grandsons play the sport of the season......baseball, soccer, football, basketball.. For football, their parents buy them helmets that cost well over a grand. I was shocked when I saw the prices.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

There was a short time that I wanted to play lacrosse in HS but when my parents heard that the year before a kid had died playing they said a hard no on that too. Apparently it was a freak accident, tall kid was running, saw another kid approach and checked him with his stick without looking properly. The kid who got checked was shorter and the stick hit at the right place on the neck. I'm almost positive it was an illegal check but it was also very sad.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

My grandsons play the sport of the season......baseball, soccer, football, basketball.. For football, their parents buy them helmets that cost well over a grand. I was shocked when I saw the prices.

At least their noggins are somewhat protected.

 

[soccerdad72]

13 or 14 years of soccer that my younger son played, aside from one broken arm when he was 8 (freak accident at practice), he mostly only had a lot of nagging injuries, the majority he played through.

He decides last spring (his senior year) to pick up lacrosse for the first time and he dislocates his shoulder before the season even started. Granted, it was another unlucky injury and he was back on the field after a couple weeks. Lacrosse, however, was as physical as any sport I've watched (at least on the boys side). Then again, that was one of the primary appeals to him. In his words, when he came home to tell us he was trying out for the HS team: "They give me a stick and I'm legally allowed to whack the crap out of people with it! I love this sport!"

 

[dez1978]

It's a complicated issue. I know there are risks, but then again everythign does. I have no problem with NFL players who choose to play the game - they are adult sand as long as they know and accept the risks, then hey, go for it (I know there was a time when the risks weren't as transparent, which I do believe was wrong). Anyway, with kids it gets a little more complicated. I don't think little kids should be playing full-contact type football. With older kids, it's harder to say. If they did want to play as adults, they have to start younger, so HS football is going to be that entry point. HS kids should at leas tbe able to understand the risks, though they are also not adults. The parents would definitely need to be involved in that. I don't know that I would really encourage it, but also it's hard to stop it if it's something that they really want to do. I guess I'm lucky I don't have kids.

These days, I don't think HS is even early enough to start if you want to really play D1 or NFL. Most kids wouldn't be able to be competetive enough with only 3-4 yrs in high school to get scouted for college, esp against these kids who have been training hardcore and playing since they were 5. Could it happen? Sure, but it would be very unlikely.

Knowing what we know now about CTE absolutely not. Fortunately DS had zero interest so we never had to have that conversation. I imagine it’s a difficult choice for parents who have kids who have the drive, talent and passion for it. My FB and IG feed are full of friends kids with injuries and surgeries from contact sports the effects of which will most likely be with them for the rest of their lives. It’s something that makes me feel conflicted because on one hand those kids LOVE what they’re doing but on the other as a parent you obviously don’t want your kids hurt. Tough call for sure and easy for me to say a hard no when my kids have never been interested.

It really is a hard choice. My 12 yr old has ADHD and is bored to death with "slow sports" like baseball, track, XC or golf. He really needs a sport that is an outlet for all that energy. He LOVES football. But in order to participate, his grades and behavior need to be good. So he works that much harder during the season to be good. It's an incentive for him to work hard and do the things he needs to do so that he can do something he loves to do. He is good at it, and ADHD kids need to have something that they excel at to kind of offset all the things they get in trouble for. I can't say no to that. I'd certainly prefer that they liked a less dangerous sport, but they don't. They wrestle because it makes them better at football. That keeps them busy most of the winter when there isn't anything else for them to do besides video games.
My 9 year old doesn't have ADHD but he loves football and wrestling and is one of those kids who is just naturally good at it. He's the kid I really worry about playing thru a concussion bc he didn't say anything. This year in the first quarter of a football game he made a tackle and hurt his thumb. Enough that he grabbed at it, and they had the trainer look at it, but he didn't cry or really complain. The trainer taped it up and he wanted to go back in the next play. He played every play the rest of the game. Found out the next day his thumb was broken. Never complained, got a splint and with ortho approval he continued playing the rest of the season. Last year, he was warming up for a wrestling tournament and one of our bigger kids fell and landed on his leg while he was doing a sweep, snapped his tibia in half. He missed the entire season (Dec-end of Feb) and was cleared to wrestle again 2 days before districts and made it to State. He is the one who won't tell me he has a headache or feels weird or that he hit his head. My 12 yr old whines about everything lol

 

[dez1978]

My grandsons play the sport of the season......baseball, soccer, football, basketball.. For football, their parents buy them helmets that cost well over a grand. I was shocked when I saw the prices.

oh yes, some of the helmets are ridiculously expensive. I bought my kids helmets for youth football because I wanted them to have good ones.

 

[wenrob]

Both of my boys play. They started flag in 1st grade and tackle in 3rd. My youngest is the kid who lives for football. Always in the yard throwing the ball, or kicking or running plays. Of course I worry about them. But so far, knock on wood, the only time either of them have gotten a concussion is in art class of all places lol. Tripped and smacked his head on the floor.

They also wrestle. Truth be told, I worry more about concussions there as they don't have any head protection at all.

I will say that helmets and coaching have come a long way in the last several years. There are now things that clip on the back of helmets that detect the hits and if it is hard enough that could cause a concussion it changes color. There are helmets with bluetooth things that alert coaches to hits so they can be pulled out and evaluated. Those things, along with coaches teaching proper tackling go a long way. Of course those things don't always prevent concussions, but they do go a long way towards detecting them and helping kids and parents get the proper treatement, or recovery time.

My younger brother’s boys both wrestled from middle school on, the younger one taking State twice and earning a full ride to wrestle in college. I feel like they wore headgear but that could be the Auntie in me wanting to see it. I’ll have to go back and look at pics. It can be a brutal sport for sure. I remember guys in high school with injured backs and knees. That was the 80s though, protocol has come a long way since then. To my knowledge neither of my nephews suffered any serious injuries.

 

[Dan Murphy]

My grandsons play the sport of the season......baseball, soccer, football, basketball.. For football, their parents buy them helmets that cost well over a grand. I was shocked when I saw the prices.

Wow!!! And I was shocked last year when I saw one priced a bit over $500.

 

[soccerdad72]

My younger brother’s boys both wrestled from middle school on, the younger one taking State twice and earning a full ride to wrestle in college. I feel like they wore headgear but that could be the Auntie in me wanting to see it. I’ll have to go back and look at pics. It can be a brutal sport for sure. I remember guys in high school with injured backs and knees. That was the 80s though, protocol has come a long way since then. To my knowledge neither of my nephews suffered any serious injuries.

Wrestling "headgear", IIRC, is little more than plastic earmuffs, essentially.

 

[design_mom]

I do not enjoy football, and neither does my husband. My son never had an interest in playing (and I didn't 'offer it' or encourage it). If he HAD wanted to, I probably would have let him -- getting him the best safety gear I could and watching him closely for concussion. Multiple concussions would have meant a hard no from me... so I'm glad it wasn't an issue.

He played hockey, soccer and basketball at various points. (It seems like hockey would have been the most dangerous - but he never had a serious injury in 9 seasons. He did end up with a concussion playing basketball in the YMCA rec league. Several kids were going for a rebound and someone's elbow met my son's face. Knocked his teeth loose and he ended up with a concussion. Go figure!) However "his thing" was distance running (cross country and track.) My daughter did marching band, track, and is rowing at her college.

 

[mrs. magoo]

My youngest son started to play football in 7th grade and is currently on a full scholarship in college for football. Has he been injured yes but he was also injured playing basketball and lacrosse. Any sport comes with risk. My son chose to play football and I supported it. Because of his size he received many full scholarship offers. He is going to graduate with an incredible degree from a prestigious college because of football. My daughter's friend suffered a concussion while swimming when a teammate accidently kicked her during warm ups. So to answer your question yes I allowed my son to play football and my girls played lacrosse and my oldest was on the crew team.