Kids in Sports

Host: Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family and Consumer Sciences Extension, University of Kentucky 

Guest: Natalie Jones, Extension Program Coordinator for Physical Activity 

Episode 17 

0:00 Welcome to Talking FACS; what you need to know about family, food, finance and fitness. Hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program, our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families and communities to improve quality of life.

0:20 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Hello and welcome back to talking FACS. This is your host Dr. Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Director for Family Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky. Today, I'm pleased to have with me, Natalie Jones, our physical activity coordinator and we're going to discuss a topic that I think is really relevant right now; Kids in Sports. So, Natalie, thank you for joining us today.

0:40 Natalie: Thanks for having me.

0:42 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: So, we've just started school and it always seems like the beginning of fall is also the start of the new sports season. I know in my Kiddos’ folders, we've had all kinds of different flyers come home promoting different sports activities.

So, let's just get started and talk in general about children and sports.

0:59 Natalie: Right. So, organized sports like you said and activities with the school right now are up and going. And that's key, because sports and group activities are so important for both a child's social and physical development.

I think one of the main issues that a lot of parents have is some of those risks that are associated with sports, but those can be minimized with proper equipment as well as a parent being involved.

And so, we are really going to kind of talk about how you can support your child in having a positive and safe experience with sports.

1:30 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Great. So, yesterday, I was having a conversation with someone and he was asking about our kids and when we started them in sports and which sport activities we started them in.

So, really in general, what age should we start thinking about putting our kiddos into sporting activities?

1:49 Natalie: Around age 2 to 5,  I would say, is when you want to focus on that unstructured play. Give them the free rein to move their bodies and encourage that, which would include running, learning how to throw and catch a ball, swimming, anything like that with body awareness. Because that's something that they're working on developing.

But when you start your child in an organized sport, I would say around age 6. And that still is going to be focusing on proper technique and fun. And so, again, children are all different, so you really want to make sure that your child, you think has that foundation to start a sport. And so, for most kids, that's between age 6 to 9.

And those include the typical tee ball, running, soccer, gymnastics, swimming, martial arts, tennis, those type of sports. And then when kids get around 10 to 12, once they've kind of learned those technical skills and abilities with coordination and balance, that's when you may want to start introducing the more complex sports of basketball, football, volleyball or hockey; things like that.

2:55 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I will say so, our little girl is 7 and she's played developmental league soccer the last couple of seasons and we've noticed so she's just started full soccer and we have noticed she's on a second and third grade team this year. Just the huge jump in skill level that the girls have between last spring and just how much they aged over the summer, how much more coordinated they are and just how much more they seem to get the game now as seven and eight-year olds as they did last year as six-year olds.

3:23 Natalie: Right. It's great to see that development.

3:25 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Yeah. So, let's talk about contact sports. I know sometimes that that can be a controversial topic. Our older son, he always wanted to play football from a very, very young age. And so, we compromised with flag football when he was in these like say the five, six, seven-year old.

But what about contact sports?

3:44 Natalie: Before anything, you are the parent. So, before you allow your child to participate in contact sport, really consider his or her age, maturity, physical size and emotional development. Because like you said, children enter puberty at different ages, they can become more physically different in size and that is really hard when you're competing against others who may be more physically mature than you and that's going to increase that risk of injury.

So, as a parent, really just watch your child and be aware of their development and where they fall with whatever sports range that they're going into.

4:18 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Right. That was one thing that always made me nervous is that our son was always smaller for his age and that when I would think about the true heavy contact sports of putting him out there with boys that were so much bigger or that outweighed him by 10, 20, 30 pounds, just his potential of getting hurt was high.

4:34 Natalie: Exactly.

4:35 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: So, also thinking about contact sports, if and when a parent chooses to have their child play contact sports, how can they ensure their safety? What are some extra steps that they can take?

4:46 Natalie: So, the main thing that I would say is to stay involved as a parent. You know, watch your child's development, make sure that they are safe. If there is equipment needed for the sport, make sure that they have the proper equipment for that.

But one of the main things that I think is really important with contact sports or any sport in general is to really pay attention to the coach and their style of coaching and to be involved that way.

So, really make sure that the coach requires the players to use that safety equipment, make sure that the players are warming up and cooling down. And then is the coach attentive to the weather?

So, if they're training during the summer or when it's cold outside; different things like that, are they making sure that the players are safe with hydration and the temperature outside.

And then I think one of the main things that we've seen a lot right now with kids’ sport is that specializing and getting these kids overworked and at a higher risk for injury. And so, really watch out for that overuse.

So, make sure that your child has an off day; a recovery day, which is hard for kids because they are so…

5:51 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Active.

5:52 Natalie: Yes. And naturally, right, they want to move. So, for a kid who is six to eight, you want to make sure that they're only really having a sports practice, one hour, three times a week. And then for nine to 12, no more than an hour and a half, four times a week. And then for 13 plus, kind of once they've hit puberty, they could go for no more than two hours, four times that week.

So, that is something that their coach should know that's appropriate for their age range. But as a parent, it's really important just to watch that and to make sure that your child is still getting those off days.

6:28 Dr. Jennifer Hunter:  I think that's great information. That’s not necessarily information that I have heard before. But I think as a parent, it's a great guide to think about how much is my child actually participating in sports, how much time are they spending and is it safe. And as you talked about safety equipment, I know that especially as our older son got involved in sports, is that safety equipment has changed tremendously over the last 10-15 years.

And I know that when he started, even just playing tee ball, in terms of the different types of protection that they encouraged in baseball was very different than maybe when my brother play tee ball.

And I think it was a little bit of a learning curve for us as parents to know exactly what type of equipment is that he needed, and how it worked, and how he should wear it, but also understanding exactly how important that that equipment is.

7:14 Natalie: And how to wear it properly.

7:16 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Right.

7:17 Natalie: I think that is a huge issue as well. So, when you're purchasing that safety equipment, make sure that someone is there in the store to help you size it to be true to size, because I think one of the issues with kids, obviously they grow and so, that equipment for sports is usually not the most affordable. And so, hand-me-down sometimes, people use, but with those, or I think one of the main things is also buying a size bigger, so that they'll grow into it. And that may seem smart, but it's not going to keep your child safe.

So, really make sure that you fit your child's equipment true-to-size for where they are.

7:51 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Is hand-me-down equipment considered safe if you can find a sports resale store, consignment-type store?

7:56 Natalie: It's going to be safer than no equipment. So, if that's your only option, then yes, do that. But I would advise to get equipment that is new, because a lot of times, there will be damage or maybe a crack in the, you know, if you're using shin guards for soccer, there could be already a crack in the shin guard and that could make your child more prone to injury if they get kicked.

8:15 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Great. So, let's move on to a little bit of a different topic, but just thinking about having our kiddos in sports. As parents, how can we best support them?

8:23 Natalie: So, overall, I think the most important thing is to be positive and encouraging. So, really emphasize effort, improvement, like you said, watching your child improve over time. And truly, that enjoyment of sport, rather than winning the sport, attend events and practices if you can, if your work schedule allows that, and then really model that good sportsmanship when you attend events. Because as we know, some parents get a little heated, which is understandable, but try to control yourself and model that good behavior for your child.

And then I think really, when you're encouraging your child, having positive feedback. And some of the statements that are known through research to encourage physical activity is just to say, “Have fun” “Play hard” “Did you have fun?” “I'm proud of you” or “I love to watch you play”.

And those are all kind of inviting questions or statements that focus on the positives of being physically active instead of just winning.

9:21 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Right. So, since we have such a large age gap between our two kiddos, I have watched a lot of youth sports, and every once in a while, we'll see the kiddo that is just in the meltdown on the practice field or during the game that it is just obvious that they don't want to be there or that sports is not their thing. So, what about children that do not like sports?

9:44 Natalie: I think that that is something that is really common. A lot of parents trying to live out their high school career through their children. And that's hard, but just understand as a parent, that not all kids want to play an organized sport. And that's acceptable and normal, I would say. And so, playing a sport is not for everyone.

However, there are other things for fitness and physical activity that aren't athletics. So, if your child is not interested in sports, find another way that makes physical activity fun for them, and something that is sustainable over a lifetime, really encouraging those healthy behaviors and starting them young.

So, take a family bike ride, check out local hiking trails, anything like that to encourage them to be active, even with friends and just something that you can do as a fun way to entice them to be active, even if they aren't joining the local high school or sports teams.

10:38 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: And I think that those are great tips, because I often think that parents turn to sports because they know that physical activity is important, that they want options for their children besides sitting in the house and being on their tablet or playing video games. And so, sport seems to be the place that parents go.

So, I think providing some of those alternative forms of recreation for the kiddo that just may not be into organized sports are great tips.

Overall, what should the focus be of youth sports?

11:06 Natalie: Overall, for any child in sports or again that person who's just doing it for recreation, it should be on having fun and being safe. Whether your child swims competitively, run tracks, or just bikes around the neighborhood, as a parent, really keep that eye on the long term goal, because there's so many benefits of physical activity, and really, you want them to have that lifestyle of being healthy and maintain it their whole life. So, really just encourage them to be active and have fun, and just be a kid.

11:35 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: I think that that's great. You know, we have accepted in our house that we do not have D1 athletes, and that is okay, that we just want them to go out, have fun, learn as you say healthy exercise that they can sustain over their lifetime.

11:48 Natalie: Exactly.

11:49 Dr. Jennifer Hunter: Great tips, Natalie. Thanks so much for joining us today.

11:51 Natalie: Thanks for having me.

11:53 Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition, health, resource management, family development and civic engagement. If you enjoy today's podcast, have a question or a show topic idea, leave a ‘Like’ and comment on Facebook @UKFCSEXT. Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu or contact your local extension agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. We build strong families. It starts with us.