Seeing the success of a child in a sports club, parents dream of their career as a professional athlete. But the price of a medal, a title or an Olympic podium is very high: disability, injuries and health problems in the future.
How to decide whether to send a child to professional sports, because this decision will change his whole life.
What is dangerous about professional sports?
Parents have a good goal — to increase endurance, strengthen the health of the baby and form the will to win. But it is worth distinguishing amateur sections from professional ones: in the latter they exert a tremendous load on the child’s body.
Psychological load
Children at such a young age obey the coach, are not afraid of performing dangerous exercises and agree to risky elements. A continuous marathon of many hours of training, exhausting, with a strict schedule and discipline: there is no way to relax and work out in a playful way. Fears and experiences are added, which are intensified during the competition period.
The child’s nervous system is vulnerable, and classes in harsh conditions can cause psychological trauma. One of the problems is obsession, when pupils follow a single goal: to achieve results through tears, blood and sweat. The time and effort spent affect school and university education, narrow the circle of interests.
Physical activity
Limb fractures, sprains, tendon rupture are becoming commonplace. Serious injuries are a reason for many athletes to end their careers ahead of schedule, and those who go to competitions with the last of their strength resort to emergency medical measures. Female athletes have problems with puberty and hormonal failures.
Advantages of professional sports
The prospects for athletes are great: advertising contracts, success and large fees for winning competitions. They have fans and the love of a million audience, the whole world is watching their achievements. For their country, they become the pride of the nation!
In modern realities, even after the end of their careers, athletes can change roles, engage in coaching — they will be happy to see them in any role.
The training regime affects children in different ways: those who reach the end become disciplined, with a strong desire to win, the ability not to give up before difficulties and at the same time lose with dignity. The trained skill of being the first remains for life.
To protect the child from negative consequences as much as possible, follow the following recommendations:
focus on the optimal age — at 7-10 years they are given to most sections, it is better to enroll in gymnastics at least from the age of 5, and power loads, for example, bodybuilding and weightlifting, are suitable for teenagers;
evaluate your own ambitions — unrealized sports dreams should not hide behind the desire to give the baby;
support a young athlete — this is an additional motivation not to give up and overcome yourself;
take into account the wishes of the baby — an insistent desire not to go to grueling workouts will be a reason to listen.
