Did you know? Each year, 1.35 million children are seen in emergency rooms for sports-related injuries. That’s one child every 25 seconds! Here is what you need to know about sports safety.
As kids are gearing up for sports this fall, share this often surprising information by SafeKids.org with other parents and keep safe while playing!
Here are four tips we believe can make a difference for athletes on and off the field:
- Educate yourself about preventing serious sports-related injuries and share this info with parents, athletes, coaches and officials.
- Learn skills to prevent injuries while playing sports. Instill smart hydration habits, exercises and stretches to prevent common injuries.
- Encourage athletes to speak up about injuries. Too often, athletes feel like they are letting down their teammates, coaches or parents if they ask to sit out. The truth is it takes more courage to speak up about an injury that can have serious and long-term effects.
- Support coaches and officials in making decisions to prevent serious injuries. A Safe Kids Worldwide 2012 survey found half of coaches admit to being pressured by a parent or athlete to keep an injured athlete in the game. Coaches need to be educated and confident in making decisions that protect the long-term interests of young athletes.
Approximately 50% of sports injuries are directly to the mouth so it is vital that parents help their children to take proper precautions. We’ve prepared a guide for parents to help protect their children’s teeth whilst they are playing sports. Here’s a guide with tips to keep your kids teeth protected during sports from dentists.
Get some tips to for winter sport safety.
You can read more of what Lindsay Hansen, program manager for sports safety for Safe Kids Worldwide, wrote at SafeKids.org.
