The Effects of Competitive Sports on Children (Essay Sample)

The Effects of Competitive Sports on Children
Student Name
Institution
Competitive sports negatively affect children because they expose the children’s growing bodies to severe physical injuries, and the children’s minds undergo psychological stress. Many advocates for competitive sports affirm that the sports instill responsibility, form the character, and foster a healthy mental being of the children participants. In fact, a number of famous adult athletes such as Tiger Woods and Lewis Hamilton started their respective sports at an early age. However, the number of such athletes is negligible. Nonetheless, the high levels of pressure inherent in competitive sports are unsuitable for the welfare of children whose mental and physical capacities are still immature. The following are the reasons why competitive sports negatively affect children.
First, the intense competition evident in these competitive sports obligate that the children participants who are aspiring to win be physically strong and flexible. According to Robert Malina (2010), the persistent physical demands placed on the children’s bodies account for the high number children who experience burnout in the form of sleep disturbances, recurrent illnesses, lack of energy, and injuries. Although the bones and muscles of children will grow until their late teenage years, there are worrying concerns that competitive sports are increasingly inflicting irrevocable physical injuries on the participant children. In fact, a report by Bennett, Lipman, and Robertson (2008) found out that 52 percent of children engaged in intense competitive sports are likely to develop serious injuries in their adult lives. The probabilities of these injuries happening are because the children’s body parts repeatedly undergo abnormal strains considering their stage of development. The tackling and bumping of each other’s body that is evident in football or ice hockey pose physical harm to the children who are not physically mature to handle such forces. Consequently, the children develop fear or life-threatening injuries, leading most of them to quit.
Secondly, children’s mental capacities are not psychologically equipped to handle the pressures that come along with competing. A child’s mind is naturally attuned to play for the purposes of exploring their immediate environment. Although some games might involve winning or losing, there is no emphasis on consistent performance. In the process, the participants enjoy the fun, the learning, and the opportunity to make friends. On the other hand, competitive sports emphasize persistent winning as the only choice, which makes the children believe that any sport ought to be a competition. Consequently, they start developing unfriendly attitudes towards other children who are perceived threats. Typically, every competition has to have winners and losers. In this case, those children not physically suited to play a particular type of sport will be repeat losers who eventually dislike the sport out of fear of failure and disapproval by their peers. Therefore, the unfriendly attitudes of the winners, and the lack of self-confidence of those children perceived as losers perpetuate an environment lacking cooperation (Bennett, Lipman, & Robertson, 2008). It is not strange to note that most children who quit sports in their onset years have issues in their self-esteems unless there were corrective measures beforehand from people concerned.
The introduction of children to competitive sports has been lauded to improve their chances of succeeding in the future. For instance, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton, and Martina Hingis all started out in their respective sports at an early age and succeeded. However, they are just a few who have succeeded. On the contrary, there are many child athletes primed for greatness who faded into obscurity. A notable example includes Freddy Adu. Interestingly, studies have indicated that most of the children pushed towards competitive sports are fulfilling their parents’ fantasies and wishes (Brackenridge & Rhind, 2010). Therefore, a child’s interest and participation in a particular sport might be superficial to appease the parents’ wishes. However, this interest fades upon the independence of the child from the parents and the only problem is that the child has a...