Kids, Sports, and Concussions

With school back in session and the fall school sports season in full swing, I want to take a minute to get you thinking about a health issue related to kids and sports. As parents, we need to be diligent about ensuring the physical safety of our kids and their bodies as it relates to concussions. God made the brain to be a complex organ. In recent years experts have been sounding the alarm about the short and long-term damage that concussions can do to the brain. A study in the journal Pediatrics suggests that the effects of a concussion may last longer than previously thought, a reality we should consider when we are pondering when to get our kids back on the field. Some concussions take months rather than a few weeks, to heal. It takes longer if the athlete has had a prior concussion. In a day and age when we value athletics and on-field achievement perhaps too much, think about the long-term effects that today’s decisions might have on your kids.