As summer heat waves settle over the entire country and parents begin to prepare for back to school schedules and activities, it is an important time to reflect on what outdoor sports mean for our youth.
In 2013, throughout the U.S., a child was admitted to an emergency room every 25 seconds for a sports related injury ranging from concussions to broken bones to dehydration. That means in one year alone, approximately 1.24 million children were seen for sport-related injuries! And it’s not surprising when less than 50% of coaches admit to having any certifications or training on how to recognize or prevent injuries. As a result, it’s up to parents and policymakers to take the lead.
Mere days ago, the Illinois Senate, House and Governor went so far as to pass concussion legislation for young children. This is a major move in the right direction, and with the start of the 2015-16 school year just around the corner, the timing couldn’t be more significant. What makes this new law so significant is that it approaches recovery in two ways. First, for students suffering a concussion it places the same priority on a student’s ‘return-to-learn’ protocol as it does on a student’s procedure for ‘return-to-play’. Additionally, the new law also applies to younger children who face even greater risks of suffering lasting effects as a result of the failure to correctly diagnose and treat concussions.
According to Senator Kwame Raoul, a major proponent of this new legislation, and a father of two children who coincidentally both suffered concussions while he was working on getting this legislation approved, “My son was able to return to play and unrestricted study three weeks after his injury; for my daughter, recovery has been a seven-month process. I learned firsthand the significance of individual recovery plans that take into account each student’s need for a gradual transition back to the classroom as well as the athletic field.”
This Summer - Keep Your Kid's Head In the Game