Summary Of Children Need To Play Not Compete By Jessica Statsky

In “Do Sports Build Character or Damage it?” Mark Edmundson explains the pros and cons of children who grow up playing football. Firstly, he believes the perseverance it takes to show up for hard practices is useful later in life. Especially when they get frustrated with something and don’t notice the little bits of progress they are making. Secondly, it increases a player’s self-confidence with every goal they achieve, no matter how small. Furthermore, he states that each player has a place on the team, this provides each player with self-affirmation. Edmundson then shows football as comparable to war play and the war heroes, Hector and Achilles in the Iliad. With this, he opens the door for the more unfavorable aspects of the game.

Statsky wrote an essay called "Children Need to Play Not Compete". In this essay she talks about how competitive sports are not good for children. Statsky's point in "Children Need to Play Not Compete" appears to be better for the children since she tells how these sports affect the kids in negative ways. Her theory tells the reader why these sports aren't satisfying or beneficial to children (page 236), but doesn't show them how well these sports can improve children in many different ways. Competitive sports teach children responsibility, respect, social skills, and they can very well help them prepare for their

The importance of children’s athletics is for kids to have fun. When the child stops getting enjoyment out of the sport, then it is the parent’s job to take them out. Sports can have many positive effects on a child’s life, but it is important to remember too much of a good thing can make it a hurtful thing. As the culture of youth athletics spirals out of control, it is the parent’s responsibility to save the child from short-term and, unfortunately, long-term damage. Parents need to evaluate how far they are willing to go for youth athletics and when they will have taken their obsession too

“In the United States, about 20 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger get hurt annually playing sports or participating in recreational activities” (Lucile Parkland Children’s Hospital). Children and their parents are sacraficing much of their time and money with youth sports. With kids starting at such a young age playing such intense sports it is increasing the amount of injuries that occur at younger ages. With the intensity increasing, children’s time is decreasing. These children have no more time for themselves or with their families. Going along with the children’s families, the parents of these young athletes are spending large amounts of money to make their kid the best and go onto the professional league. The families of these children not only spend hundreds of dollars, but also are one of the top reasons youth sports have become so intense. They have been more involved and effect the child’s performance. These sports programs are causing mental and physical damage for these developing kids and the intensity of parents and coached have made it even more overwhelming.

Football, although fun and exciting, plays an immense role in many long term health issues especially for people who start at a young age. The sport’s injuries include long term health issues such as chronic encephalopathy, ALS, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia; it also can be a reason for domestic violence, and on some occasions, unnecessary death. There are many factors that can persuade parents to believe that football is a safer sport than it was before, but the long term effects of a simple injury from the sport outweighs it all.

The amount of children participating in competitive sports has been on a steady decline in the past decade. Between the years of 2008 and 2013, the total number of children participating in competitive sports has dropped by approximately 2.6 million. This is mainly due to the many negative impacts that young athletes face when partaking in these sports. Competitive sports involve sports where competition is encouraged, and where winning is more important than anything else. Competing in these sports causes the children to be vulnerable to many risks and many other negative impacts. Children who participate in competitive sports at a young age experience more serious negative impacts than positives, including a risk of severe injury, losing

“Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” by Jessica Statsky is a thoughtful insight on the competitive sports for children. She is of the view that the competitive sports can ruin the enjoyment that games are supposed to provide. These methods of playing the games like adults can prove to be lethal for physical and psychological health. The author quotes from an authentic source that “Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical.” (Tutko) This means that the games for children need to focus more on their pleasure and enjoyment rather than on the competition. Competition only makes children bound to be winners. It also discourages sportsman spirit. Instead of being a source of healthy growth, these competitive sports have started becoming the source of depression for children when they don’t fulfil the expectations of their parents. These sports should enhance the sportsman spirit in children and must be beneficial for their mental and physical health. Concentrating on winning or losing spoils the fun that games hold. In addition, equal chances should be provided to every child to participate. Competitive nature can assist the children in their life later on, but the focus should be on better mental and physical health. (204 words)

The turf is lit up by the blazing sun. A crowd of parents and family fill the bleachers with cheers in their mouths. The play starts. All the players form a perfect positioning and hand off the ball. Going going gone. A boy cheers with a childish grin on his face. He falls over in joy. Youth sports is a hot topic in today’s world. With so many kids participating it was bound to become something of discussing. Should kids play competitive sports? While some parents believe that the competition can harm kids, I believe that sports can greatly help kids. Making them experience healthy competition and become more well rounded contributing members of society.

To most kids and students, competitive sports are a gateway to blow off some steam or to have fun. To parents, the sports that their children play and the lessons that they teach are an important part of their development and life. Despite what many ‘experts’ would like you to believe, both of these statements are completely true. I believe that kids should be allowed to play competitive sports due to the health benefits, the lessons that they can teach, and as a result of the advanced equipment and rules that are focused on making sports safe, as well as the fact that sports can keep kids out of trouble.

There has long been the debate for whether kids should be allowed to participate in competitive sports. Most people against say that sports make kids get severely injured, which is true, but only if the kid is unprotected and not in a safe environment, which is not the case with sports these days. In fact, sports promote more of a healthy lifestyle. Sports also promote life skills and help kids later in life Sports should be for all ages and kids.

According to Jessica Statsky’s essay titled Children Need to Play, Not Compete, most children under the age of 12 do not need competition in sports. Claiming that organized sports are not “satisfying nor beneficial” for young children, Statsky expresses her concerns over a few issues. Supporting her thesis, Statsky discusses the negative physical and psychological effects of competitive sports. She further asserts that most children do not enjoy competition by citing a study about how most children would prefer to be on a losing team that allowed everyone to play rather than a winning team that may bench them due to performance. Also, she states ‘scorekeeping, league standings, and the drive to win bring(s) out the worst in adults’. Illustrating

Some believe it is necessary to ban high school student from playing certain intense sports, while others do not. This topic is extremely vital and necessary to argue as it plays a major role in the lives of children regarding not only their safety and the possible risks of these hazardous sports, but the lessons of teamwork and discipline, and sources of stress outlets they bring. This topic will continue to be debated and no researcher, coach, or parent will stop arguing until all studies are proven accurate. So are all of these life and death matters worth the risks and the long hours of research and studying? That's what we are patiently waiting to find

Some kids will play rougher and more physically than others trying to do better than kids on the opposing team. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports, over the past thirty years “fractures increased by fifty-six percent in girls and thirty-two percent in boys” (see figure 1). Children and kids often continue to play sports even after injuring themselves or after being injured by another person because of the fear of their parent and or coaches expectations(s) for them to win and continue playing (Muller). Parents often do not like to see their child fail in a sport they want them to succeed in (Wallace). Furthermore, parents will also push their child into sports frequently for their own enjoyment as well as pushing them into sports to keep them in shape. Frequently parents push their child into sports to keep what they perceive as the “American Dream” of an intact family alive: A Happily married family, with smart children and who succeed in sports.

“In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year” claims Stanford Children’s Health. It’s definitely true that competitive sports can cause all sorts of injuries from big to small. The media teaches people simply that sports leads to horrific injuries and can cause stress, but what the mainstream media hardly discusses are the great benefits of competitive sports. While there may be some negatives to competitive sports, that’s just life, and to add on to that; there are plenty of benefits which are sure to override to media’s facts. Kids should play competitive sports because competitive sports teach children powerful life lessons, contributes to their social and mental stability, and because of the physical gain competitive sports provides.

In this day and age with professional athletes being at the top of the social spectrum, youth sports have gotten very popular. “More than 26 million children ages 6 to 17 played team sports in 2014(Rosenwald).” Youth sports are very popular because it brings the great feeling of being on a team. When you are on a team you feel like you can do anything together, and nothing is stopping you. There are also many flaws in youth sports. In recent years studies have found that some kids have been steering away from sports. Numbers in kids playing sports has gone down nearly 4 percent from 2009, according to a widely cited survey by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Total sports played have plummeted by nearly 10 percent. People were curious why this was happening, so studies were conducted to find out. The researchers found out that there have been added pressures by three main sources, parents, coaches, and self pressure. Kids look up to their parents and coaches and would never want to disappoint them. The parents and coaches being the role models they are for the kids, that makes the pressure even more effective. Many kids around the United States have been leaving