Kids & Football

[parisi]

Is tackle football ok for kids?

[Sandman2]

   Its not a simple answer.  I do agree with all of the above - and I played tackle football for 8 years (but never as a kid).  
   There are some positions like lineman where the chance for head injury are very low.   If my son was a big kid, I wouldn't worry about it.  If my son was small and fast - I would certainly think about flag football or soccer.
   My son played soccer from K up.  He  started football as a freshman in high school.  The footwork and ball awareness that he learned in soccer really helped him quickly catch up to those kids who had played football.  

[specialmom]

My son played contact football in second grade.  His idea.  You'd be surprised at the number of kids that go out for this.  

This year he played flag football which was BIG fun!  I recommend it.

The other problem with contact football is the practice time.  We practiced, no joke, when my son was 7 years old FOUR times a week with game days on Saturday that took half a day as we traveled to many locations to play.  It was rough.  

Flag football programs (and you can look for the NFL league which is all around the country) play typically one day a week with a practice ahead of a game on the same day.  

good luck!

[margypops]

what about soccer ..thats mostly kicking the ball and popular the world over .

[adgal]

I'm 100% with Anniebrooke.  I would consider perhaps flag or touch instead.

[AnnieBrooke]

No, the blows to the head that can happen are considered to be very dangerous for kids.  There was some recent material in the media about it, you might google "head hits in football, children" and see if you can find it.  It was very persuasive.  Adult ex-football players can actually get dementia from all the hits they took to the head when they were under 21.