Competitive Sports Are Harmful To Children

There has been a long disagreement about children playing competitive sports. I am writing to tell you that competitive sports are harmful to children at the middle school level. Some people believe that competitive sports are helpful to kids because they help with social skills, but other people argue that competitive sports are harmful for children because they can cause injuries. Most evidence shows that children at the middle school level, should not play competitive sports because they can be very harmful for kids. Statistics show that more than 3.5 million kids under fifteen require medical treatment for sports injuries. For this and multiple other reasons, many people believe that children at the middle school level should not be allowed

For example, in an article from Huffingtonpost.com, it said parents in the US, spend about six hundred seventy one dollars on average to cover uniforms, coaching, and registration fees (“High Cost of Youth Sports” 2). That shows that they are harmful, because parents are spending a lot of money just for their kid to play one sport. They could be saving their money for their children’s college or something else that will benefit their future. Another example is in the same article, it said, “More than 2 in 10 (21%) spend $1,000 or more every year for sports per child”(“High Cost of Youth Sports” 1).That shows that the cost of competitive sports is harmful because parents are spending a lot of money per year. So, if the kid keeps playing the sport every year until college, that can end up being a lot more money than just for them playing it once. Furthermore, they could be spending even more if they get hurt, or if they play more than one sport. They could be spending the money on more important things than just sports. Last, it also says in the article written by Jane E. Brody, “2-5 out of 1000 high school athletes ever achieve professional status” (Brody 3). In other words, they are saying that parents are spending a lot of money for their kids to play competitive sports when they only have a small chance of playing it at a professional level. Therefore, they wasted all their money for their kids to play a sport, when only about two percent of high school athletes win sports scholarships at NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) colleges. That is how the cost of competitive sports is harmful to