Children Should Play Contact Sports
Med Prep/ mod 3
The benefits of sports are immeasurable, participating in a sport, whether it is a contact sport or not can benefit a child in every aspect of their life. Participating in a sport keeps a child fit, reduces their stress, teaches them teamwork, gives them a skill, helps them learn how to socialize, builds their character, provides them with a constructive use of time, promotes good health, and boosts their self-confidence. Some people think contact sports are dangerous, but children cannot be protected from everything that presents a possible risk. Some children do get hurt in sports, but the vast majority of children who play sports will not have any long-lasting injury. Many other things are dangerous as well, such as riding in a car, risks present themselves every day, but not everything that is dangerous can be banned.
The concept of children in organized collision based sport is to learn how to appropriately use their body in a safe and effective way. If you teach a young child to tackle they're far less likely to be injured than if you attempt to teach an eighteen year old to hit for the first time. As children play contact sports they are learning and growing in their skills that will benefit them later in life.
Although there are risks to playing contact sports such as; fighting, concussion, possible long-term damage, and other serious injuries, the chance of most children suffering from these risks are low. Some parents feel the need to shelter their children or protect them from any unnecessary harm but the truth is, parents and other adults cannot protect their children from every harmful thing that goes on every day.
With every sport comes the need for proper training and equipment to prevent from unnecessary injuries. In football, for example, it is mandatory for players to have helmets, jockstraps and cups, neck collars, mouth guards, thigh, hip and knee pads, and shoulder pads all in good condition. It is important for players to know the game well and to know proper blocking, how to execute a tackle, and any other plays and skills that they may need to know in their position. The knowledge of the game along with proper gear and equipment is not only important in football but any sport. In soccer, shin guards and gloves are required along with the knowledge of the game and the skills to perform on the field in a way that limits the risk of injury.
Having the proper training and equipment drastically decreases the risk of injury as opposed to the risk there would be without these components. Although injury is inevitable and cannot be completely avoided, there are ways for it to be limited, giving parents more piece of mind that their child will be peter protected from harm.
In my opinion, children should play contact sports because of the benefits of playing. Not only do these sports provide a constructive use of time, but also boost self-confidence and improve social skills. There are dangers involved in playing these sports but there are also dangers involved in everyday tasks that are unavoidable. The majority of children who play contact sports have either no serious injuries or no long-term injuries. The pros of participating in contact sports and even sports in general definitely outweigh the cons of participation which is why I strongly believe that children should play contact sports.

Works Cited
"Athletes at Risk for Sports-Related Injuries." N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
"Debate: Should Children Be Banned from Contact Sports? Read and Vote." The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
"Should Children Be Allowed to Play Risky Contact Sports like American Football?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.