Parents ; many of your children have been exposed to sports at a young age, and have been giving them up as they grow older. The increasing difficulty of IGCSE and IB courses (O Levels and A Levels {age 13 and above}) have required young adults to give more attention and their own time to them. Resulting in an increase of missed trainings or quitting the sport all together. This sanctions kids to unintentionally nurture possibly fatal medical conditions.
“Besides the well-known benefits to their health and well-being, you've seen how sports gets teens and tweens involved in school and community groups,” says Roni Cohen-Sandler, a Clinical Psychologist, Author and Speaker. “So when teens announce they're quitting, sometimes after spending as much as a decade at their sports, many parents are upset, disappointed, or angry.”
Undeniably, O Level and A Level curriculums have become exceedingly more difficult compared to the past generations. Causing kids to spend more and more of their time on studying for tests that ever so happen once every 2 weeks. Instead of spending quality time outside, with the fresh air and absolute quietness that is peace.
The National Alliance for Sports reports, “Twenty million kids register each year for youth hockey, football, baseball, soccer, and other competitive sports. The National Alliance for Sports reports that 70 percent of these kids quit playing these league sports by age 13 -- and never play them again.” This report leads to multiple different questions and possible answers, but it also leads to the big one. What is the reason for 70% of 20 million kids (14 million) to quit the sports they had once loved? Have they forgotten what used to be such a huge part of their youth? Or do they simply not have the time from the hours you are expected to spend on increasingly difficult homework? The pressure to do well from parents, teachers and other peers do not help in the matter. Even sometimes the encouragement from them, their intentions may be pure, but the results can vary.
That is a big problem. The majority of kids that are quitting sports completely are aged around their teen years (13-18). “Sports and other physical activities have innumerable physical health benefits, including improved cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, bone health, increased life expectancy, and coronary health. Sports can also help prevent various types of cancer and weight gain and have positive effects on mental health by reducing depression and improving cognitive function,” says Bradley Cohen, a former sports editor for the "Ketchikan Daily News" in Alaska. “Sports can decrease the risk of colon cancer by as much as 300 percent, according to the British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. It can also significantly decrease the risk of breast cancer, and might decrease the risk of endometrial and lung cancer.”
Undoubtedly, experts say 16-20 hours a week of physical activity in youth children should be more than enough to benefit the kids health and mental wise. After discontinuing their sports life, kids don’t get nearly enough physical exercise they should be getting to keep healthy. Without those precious hours, teens are more likely to receive the opposite of the health benefits noted by Bradley Cohen. Meaning more prone to cardiorespiratory malfunctions. “Sports can help people of all ages maintain and improve the health of their heart, lungs and blood vessels. Physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of coronary disease and stroke. According to the British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, approximately 40 percent of deaths related to coronary heart disease are related to inadequate physical activity, obesity, stress and raised blood pressure. Sports can help with all of these physical issues, decreasing the risk of coronary disease by about 50 percent.” Says Bradley Cohen.
For the most part, 8 in 10 kids grow up and out of their teens healthy and happy. That is until the years go by and slowly, very slowly, their pasts begin to haunt them. “Healthy bones are critical to senior health. As you age, your body begins to absorb old bone tissue faster than new bone tissue can be created, and your bones tend to become thinner and weaker. This leads to a condition known as osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become very fragile and can easily break during a fall or even when you're making everyday movements.” A study from Everyday Health conducted by Dennis Thompson Jr, a career journalist with more than 20 years of experience, writing for newspapers in Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Delaware, and Oregon. In which their goal was to finding the “10 Health Conditions to Watch For as You Age”. It is proved that a consistent amount of sports or physical activity a week can gradually increase your muscle and bone strength allowing you to more likely avoid osteoporosis.
To avoid multiple health conditions from your children that could affect their life long term, take steps to insure that your son/daughter is passionate to go outside the house and participate socially in team sports or in races etc.
Steer your child away from time consuming activities like TV and social media. Get them engaged in activities that reinforce learning. As a thumb rule, 16-20 hours a week of outdoor-physical activity should be more than enough. But look out for signs of burnout. As a parent, you should closely observe your child and base your decisions off feedback directly from communicating with them, purely.
Cohen, Bradley S. "How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?"LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
“Besides the well-known benefits to their health and well-being, you've seen how sports gets teens and tweens involved in school and community groups,” says Roni Cohen-Sandler, a Clinical Psychologist, Author and Speaker. “So when teens announce they're quitting, sometimes after spending as much as a decade at their sports, many parents are upset, disappointed, or angry.”
Undeniably, O Level and A Level curriculums have become exceedingly more difficult compared to the past generations. Causing kids to spend more and more of their time on studying for tests that ever so happen once every 2 weeks. Instead of spending quality time outside, with the fresh air and absolute quietness that is peace.
The National Alliance for Sports reports, “Twenty million kids register each year for youth hockey, football, baseball, soccer, and other competitive sports. The National Alliance for Sports reports that 70 percent of these kids quit playing these league sports by age 13 -- and never play them again.” This report leads to multiple different questions and possible answers, but it also leads to the big one. What is the reason for 70% of 20 million kids (14 million) to quit the sports they had once loved? Have they forgotten what used to be such a huge part of their youth? Or do they simply not have the time from the hours you are expected to spend on increasingly difficult homework? The pressure to do well from parents, teachers and other peers do not help in the matter. Even sometimes the encouragement from them, their intentions may be pure, but the results can vary.
That is a big problem. The majority of kids that are quitting sports completely are aged around their teen years (13-18). “Sports and other physical activities have innumerable physical health benefits, including improved cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, bone health, increased life expectancy, and coronary health. Sports can also help prevent various types of cancer and weight gain and have positive effects on mental health by reducing depression and improving cognitive function,” says Bradley Cohen, a former sports editor for the "Ketchikan Daily News" in Alaska. “Sports can decrease the risk of colon cancer by as much as 300 percent, according to the British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. It can also significantly decrease the risk of breast cancer, and might decrease the risk of endometrial and lung cancer.”
Undoubtedly, experts say 16-20 hours a week of physical activity in youth children should be more than enough to benefit the kids health and mental wise. After discontinuing their sports life, kids don’t get nearly enough physical exercise they should be getting to keep healthy. Without those precious hours, teens are more likely to receive the opposite of the health benefits noted by Bradley Cohen. Meaning more prone to cardiorespiratory malfunctions. “Sports can help people of all ages maintain and improve the health of their heart, lungs and blood vessels. Physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of coronary disease and stroke. According to the British Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, approximately 40 percent of deaths related to coronary heart disease are related to inadequate physical activity, obesity, stress and raised blood pressure. Sports can help with all of these physical issues, decreasing the risk of coronary disease by about 50 percent.” Says Bradley Cohen.
For the most part, 8 in 10 kids grow up and out of their teens healthy and happy. That is until the years go by and slowly, very slowly, their pasts begin to haunt them. “Healthy bones are critical to senior health. As you age, your body begins to absorb old bone tissue faster than new bone tissue can be created, and your bones tend to become thinner and weaker. This leads to a condition known as osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become very fragile and can easily break during a fall or even when you're making everyday movements.” A study from Everyday Health conducted by Dennis Thompson Jr, a career journalist with more than 20 years of experience, writing for newspapers in Virginia, West Virginia, Florida, Delaware, and Oregon. In which their goal was to finding the “10 Health Conditions to Watch For as You Age”. It is proved that a consistent amount of sports or physical activity a week can gradually increase your muscle and bone strength allowing you to more likely avoid osteoporosis.
To avoid multiple health conditions from your children that could affect their life long term, take steps to insure that your son/daughter is passionate to go outside the house and participate socially in team sports or in races etc.
Steer your child away from time consuming activities like TV and social media. Get them engaged in activities that reinforce learning. As a thumb rule, 16-20 hours a week of outdoor-physical activity should be more than enough. But look out for signs of burnout. As a parent, you should closely observe your child and base your decisions off feedback directly from communicating with them, purely.
If all else fails in trying to associate your child in some sort of physical activity or sport. Then get your pen and paper ready, because you should already be assisting them in their academic life.
Cohen, Bradley S. "How Does Playing Sports Affect Your Health?"LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 19 Aug. 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2015.
Jr, Dennis Thompson. "10 Health Conditions to Watch for as You Age."Everyday Health. Everyday Health, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
Hey Fayyaz, Your article is great and really eye-opening. It is interesting and helps provide a perspective that I haven't seen before. Most of the time competitive sports and written up as a distraction and are non benefitial. There are a lot of expert Quotes and evidence. After reading this I now realise that this is an important issue and does need attention.
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