Expenses of Sports Participation

Sports programs are not cheap. Many sports ask for too high of a price and parents just can not afford to have there kids participate. Parents sometimes just do not have the budget. An article by Kids Play USA Foundation titled "Overview and Cost of Youth Sports" explains how high of a price participating in sports can be and other expenses involved in sports like apparel and travel. The article also gives a video highlighting how paying to play can hurt sport participation.

The video talks about a high school whose level of athletic members is on the decline due to their expenses for playing. Some kids at the high school decided to go try to play on other teams where they didn't have to pay such expenses. Choosing to charge parents to have their kids participate in physical activity is outrageous to me. I mean a simple charge would be sufficient but programs charge more money than families have at their disposal. Some families do not have the financial stability to pay for sports no matter how bad their kids want to play or how bad they want them to play. If the budget isn't there it isn't there. Not to mention the other expenses involved in sports like gas for travel, uniforms and equipment, and even doctor bills if their kids happen to get hurt. If sports programs are looking for more members or kids to play than they are not helping the cause with the high price tags for participating.

Kids are Self-Conscious

Children and adolescents are sensitive and not comfortable with accepting failure. They don't know how to cope with embarrassment. This is why many kids do not want to play sports because of the many opportunities for embarrassment or failure. They also can be shy and too nervous to be with people they don't know. Sport programs are part of the community and involve meeting and interacting with new people. This can be very hard for young kids. This shyness and nervousness keys the term "mamma's boy".Which is a term for a kid who clings to his mom because he/she can not handle the chance of embarrassment or new people being around. There is also sports phobia which is an anxiety disorder where children simply have a fear of playing sports or being in the situations in sports. They often try to avoid these situations meaning avoid participating in sports. An article by Dr. Steven Richfield called "Child Phobia: Sports Phobia, Fear of Playing Sports", describes sports phobia and gives parents ways to help their children conquer the phobia. This phobia or self consciousness keeps children away from the fields of sports. Basically, the opportunities for failure or embarrassment scare off children and have them avoiding sports.

Obesity

Obesity is more of a problem today than ever. Obesity is defined as having "a BMI or body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex"(CDC 1). It has gained widespread concern and attention.

Many people ask themselves why is America becoming so obese or what is leading to people becoming obese? The answer is laziness! America as a society has become lazy from our technology! This makes us not want to participate in exercise or physical activity therefore leading us to become overweight and obese. According to the CDC, "Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years." The CDC also claims that, "Obesity now affects 1 in 6 children and adolescents in the United States." They published an article titled, "Childhood Overweight and Obesity" laying out more obesity facts and causes in America. If you think about that fact, one in every six children you see are supposedly obese. That's one in six children that don't participate in sports. Now if this problem is constantly increasing and doubling or quadrupling, think about how many sports members could be lost. Children just spend too much time sitting nowadays. The role of technology in our lives leads us to be spending all our time sitting instead of doing productive things. According to Michelle Obama's "Let's move campaign," research shows that children spend about 7 hours a day just sitting. This fact is ridiculous but proves why children are becoming obese and not playing sports.

Youth Sports Declining

Youth sports are not what they use to be. Today, sports are taking a step back in children's lives. When I was a kid, participating in a sport was considered a priority and a way to have fun and spend your free time. That is no longer the case. Youth sports and athletics is on the decline due to the plethora of social issues relating to technology use, health, and financial reasons.

Technology has a greater impact on our lives now than ever. Children now spend their free time playing video games, watching TV or using the computer. The technology age is here and it has taken over. This increasing technology use has made modern people lazy and lazy means sitting and not wanting to do anything. For instance, play sports! This act of laziness leads to people becoming overweight and obese. Thus, putting them in a position where they can't or won't participate in athletic or physical activities. Also, there is many health or injury risks involved in some sports. Injuries that can be very severe and alarm parents. Therefore, making parents worry about signing their kids up for such sports. Kids are very sensitive and can also be very self conscious or afraid to participate due to the many opportunities for failure or embarrassment. Lastly, there are some big expenses that come with playing and parents might not exactly have the budget to pay such expenses. There are many reasons for the declining participation levels of youth sports but these are just a few. More reasons for fewer participants are in the graph below:

Injury Risks in Sports

Injury in youth sports or in any sport for that matter is a serious deal. Injury has become very common is today's youth sports. These injuries aren't just minor scrapes and bruises but rather life threatening and significant. The potential risk of serious injury is beginning to warn off people who take part in youth sports and physical activities. Mothers and fathers don't want to place their kids in this realm of injury. Parents don't want to take chances when it comes to their kids. They would rather have their kids stay home and have comfort in knowing their kids are safe. The CDC released an article called, "Protect the ones you love" where they highlight the severity of injuries in children through sports and preventative ways to keep it from happening. One serious injury that attracts more concern than any is the concussion. A concussion is a severe head injury that can lead to brain trauma. This injury is such a big issue that Congress passed the "Youth Sports Concussion Act" to help ensure safety and control widespread alarm among parents. Concussions can lead to brain injuries that can cause death and what parents in their right mind would want to lose their child. Why put your child in a sports program that could ultimately put them in a coffin? Serious injuries in sports don't stop at concussions. There are many other injuries that can be life threatening or threatening to future participation in sports or any physical activity. The continuous risk of injury is what is making youth sports lose members.

Is technology making your kids lazy?

Technology is more integrated in our society today than ever before. Many different technologies are constantly becoming a "way of life" and essential in our world. In fact, new technologies are invented every day! Then, its not long before its part of life. Our society has become lazy. Technology consumes much of our everyday lives.

In the below video by KSLlive, a simple game of catch between kids can be replaced by a robot.