Wondering which sports are safest for your child’s participation? In 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission published the following figures, broken down by sport.
What’s predominant in the report — some of these sports aren’t organized school or club activities, but more casual recreational ones.
The main takeaway: protective headgear is imperative. While deaths are rare, the most common sports injuries associated with death are brain injuries. Again, wearing a helmet is the best prevention.
- Basketball. More than 170,000
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for
basketball-related injuries.
- Baseball and softball. Nearly 110,000 children
ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for baseball-related
injuries. Baseball also has the highest fatality rate among sports for children
ages 5 to 14, with three to four children dying from baseball injuries each year.
- Bicycling. More than 200,000
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for
bicycle-related injuries.
- Football. Almost 215,000 children
ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for football-related
injuries.
- Ice hockey. More than 20,000
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for ice
hockey-related injuries.
- In-line and roller
skating. More than 47,000 children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital
emergency rooms for in-line skating-related injuries.
- Skateboarding. More than 66,000
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for
skateboarding-related injuries.
- Sledding or toboggan. More than 16,000
children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for
sledding-related injuries.
- Snow skiing or
snowboarding. More than 25,000 children ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital
emergency rooms for snowboarding and snow skiing-related injuries.
- Soccer. About 88,000 children
ages 5 to 14 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for soccer-related
injuries.
- Trampolines. About 65,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for trampoline-related injuries.
Want to learn more before signing your kid up for baseball or gymnastics? Check out this article on guidelines for avoiding sports injuries from the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA).
Which Sports are Safe for Kids: Sources
NATA
Stanford Children’s Health
Changing the Game Project
FiveThirtyEight
