What Is The Cost Of Youth Sports Essay

With the rising costs for colleges parents have looked for other ways to get their kids in this expensive form of education. One way is through sports scholarships, however these scholarships come with a cost. When kids play youth sports they have a higher risk of injury along with many other consequences such as mental health deteriorating, and poor parent/child relationships. Simply put, youth sports are too intense for kids.

One vital piece of information to consider about extremely competitive youth sports is the massive amounts of injuries that a child can get. For example, studies have shown that over 3.5 million injuries caused by youth sports alone (sport injuries statistics). This is roughly equivalent to stubbing your toe 1000 times

For example when you have practice 5-7 days a week your relationships can suffer. Whether it's a friend or a loved one, if a child spends most of their time playing football no one will want to spend time with the child (Oberschneider). Another example may be that stress from youth sports can lead to anxiety and sometimes substance abuse and eating disorders. Stress from getting a scholarship can cause anxiety which can cause many disorders like insomnia (a common sleep disorder), eating disorder, social isolation, etc… (Oberschneider). Youth athletes can have the fear of failure which causes anxiety, depression, and substance misuse (Kinsella, Swanlund). Should a child have to experience

For example, according to Morgan Wiese, star defender of Walt Witman girls soccer team, parents will yell and swear at their children, as well as “hover around practices”(Beekman). Another example of parent/child relationship suffering is that the children have a fear of failure. Imagine that a child is playing football and being watched by their parents but if the child were to lose the game the child's parents start yelling and swearing at the child, that's what it's like to be one of these children. When these childrens worst fears come true they have a threat reaction which can cause powerful mental changes including physiological, emotional, physical, etc. the final example is that they are pressured not only by family members but also by peers. According to Jim Taylor, psychologist of sports and parenting says “If you dig down one layer to examine the causes of such painful reactions in young athletes, you’ll find expectations and pressure, primarily from parents, but also from peers”(Taylor). Would you do this to your