Child Development

Unstructured Free Play Important for Kids

Too often these days, parents feel they have no choice but to pack their child's schedules with adult-supervised, adult-driven activities such as organized sports, even in the summer, when kids have the most free time.  But, as a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) makes clear, such activities should not come at the expense of free and unstructured play, which is critical to healthy child development.

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SmartTeams Short Talk: Best Predictor of Whether A Child Will Play College Sports Is Parent Or Sibling Who Played College or Pro

Loyola of Chicago's Dr. Neeru Jayanthi says three studies of college athletes shows that the best predictor of whether a youth athlete will play sports in college is genetics: whether they have a first degree relative (i.e. parent or sibling) who played college or professional sports.
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Relative Age Effect Reversal Found At Elite Level of Canadian Hockey

Much has been made of the relative age effect (RAE) - that birth month is destiny for sports achievement - but the evidence is far from conclusive. It is true that some sports team rosters across the globe have a lot of players born in the first few months of the year, but there is more to this phenomenon than originally understood.
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The Summer of Play: Eight Ways to Let Your Kid Be a Kid This Summer

A best-selling parenting author argues that the lack of unstructured play  is exacting a heavy price on our kids, but says that if you're ready to change your high-pressure, overscheduling ways, summer is the perfect time to get started.
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Unstructured Play (and Why Your Kids Need More of It This Summer)

All of our well-meaning attempts to fill up our children's summer with enriching activities may actually be harming them. Here is why we need to back off a little and let them just be kids.
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National Youth Sports Safety Month
National Youth Sports Safety Month

Hilary Levey Friedman (Sociologist): Picking Teams Based On Player Size Not Age Could Reduce Injuries, Level Playing Field

Submitted by National Youth Sports Safety Month on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 19:08. | comments

In recognition of April as National Youth Sports Safety Month, MomsTeam asked 30 experts two years ago to write a blog answering two questions: first, how or why did they get into their field, and second, how have they made a difference in the life of a youth athlete in the past year.  Because the project was a huge success, and because the blogs are timeless (and, as the saying goes, if you haven't seen them before, they are, well, new to you), we are reprising many of them this month.

Today, we hear again from sociologist Hilary Levey Friedman.

By Hilary Levey Friedman

Forming sports teams by size, rather than age or grade, may not only reduce the advantage kids born earlier in the year have over younger teammates (the relative age effect), but the number of injuries.
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National Youth Sports Safety Month
National Youth Sports Safety Month

Paul Bearmon (Internal Medicine): Fighting For Balance and Fairness in Youth Sports

Submitted by National Youth Sports Safety Month on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 15:19. | comments

In recognition of April as National Youth Sports Safety Month, MomsTeam has asked 30 experts to write a blog answering two questions: first, how or why did they get into their field, and second, how have they made a difference in the life of a youth athlete in the past year.

Today, we hear from Paul Bearmon, a physician in Minnesota and founder of KEAP (Keep 'Em All Playing).

Paul H. Bearmon, MD

A physician tells of how he counsels parents of youth athletes to keep sports in perspective and fights to make youth sports that serves the interests of all children, not just the select few.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

Athletic Success: An Accident of Birth?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 01/07/2012 - 20:36. | comments

If your child plays hockey or softball and is celebrating a birthday this month, congratulations, your kid is very lucky!

Why is that, you may ask?

Numerous studies have shown give kids in sports where teams are grouped by age born early in the age-group year (January for hockey and softball, May for baseball, and August for soccer) a number of advantages over their younger teammates.  Should success in sports really depend on the month of an athlete's birthday?
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Youth Sports About Learning Fundamentals and Having Fun

It's unfortunate that so many coaches and parents see each season's won and loss record as the only measure of success, instead of being just a part of having fun and the learning experience. The real journey in youth sports, says youth basketball commissioner and founder of Respect Sports, Frank White, should be that each season's learning builds upon the previous season's fundamentals as athletes strive to achieve enough skills to play at the varsity high school level, or just enough achievement to enjoy playing the game, at even the recreational sports level.
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