Guest Blog Post: Safety Tips for Youth Sports

Check out this guest post by John O'Connor on safety in youth sports.  It's definitely been a concern of mine as we start to have a child old enough to compete in team sports on how to approach it.  Unfortunately our culture of sports glorification encourages people to sacrifice everything in the bloom of their youth (from college sports, pro sports to even the Olympics) to the extent that athletes can suffer a lifetime of pain or disability for playing their sport a very short amount of time.  Naturally you can be injured doing anything or participating in any sport but high-contact sports are definitely high risk by their very nature.  Clearly there are precautions and rules that can make those kinds of sports safe for kids and John looks at some ideas for that.  So without further ado...

Sports allow kids to develop many physical and social skills. With physical skills, they are able to become physically fit, increase their strength, and improve their lung capacity. With social skills, they are able to learn how to play as a team, develop leadership skills, and understand the importance of sportsmanship. Because of these positive attributes, parents often encourage their kids to participate in as many sports as they can. While all sports will present the risk of getting injured, some sports are at a higher risk than others. Football, lacrosse, hockey, and other impact sports present an increased risk for kids to be seriously injured. However, parents still desire for their kids to participate and excel in these sports; therefore, it is extremely important for all parents to know and understand the risks associated with certain types of sports, but most importantly, parents should take the necessary steps to keep their kids safe.

Over the last few years, the National Football League has been accused of reducing the excitement associated with the game. Many critics make this accusation because of the many new rules and regulations that have been implemented. Because these rules are designed to increase player safety, some actions associated with the game have been eliminated. One action that has been eliminated is big hits. Since many offensive and defensive players were getting seriously injured when big hits happened, the NFL took the bold move of completely eliminating these plays from the game. If a player commits a big hit, he can be fined or suspended. Another rule that has been implemented is the elimination of helmet-to-helmet hits and hits with the crown of a player’s helmet. As a result of these new player safety strategies, the NFL has noticed a decrease in the amount of serious injuries that its players have sustained.

The NFL understands the importance of teaching future professional players about the importance of player safety, and as a result, it created a new campaign called NFL Evolution. This campaign gives parents, educators, and coaches an overview on how they can best protect young kids when they are participating in sports. The campaign outlines the dangers and risks associated with each sport, but most importantly, it shows what actions should be taken to reduce the risk of acquiring one of these injuries. Personally, I applaud the NFL on taking the initiative to highlight the importance of player safety. While I believe that the game should be fun, I also believe that fun and excitement should not come at the expense of someone getting seriously injured. Usually, if someone is seriously injured, he or she could have received a concussion, a torn ligament, or some type of heat related injury.

Concussions

There are many head injuries that players have the opportunity to receive, but the most common injury is a concussion. Concussions will occur if someone’s head is hit by something or if the head hits something itself. Within the NFL, this results in both offensive and defensive players being at a high risk of receiving a concussion. If a player receives a concussion, he or she may complain of head pain, show signs of confusion, and even complain of hearing or memory loss. The NFLPA noticed the frequency of concussions and the effects of them; therefore, the members of the organization decided to develop a partnership with EarQ, a hearing a provider. This partnership provides former NFL players and current youth information on how to get treated for hearing loss. Furthermore, it details ways in which people can protect kids from receiving concussions and what action needs to be taken if they receive one. If a kid receives a concussion, the quickest way to get him or her on the path to recovery is to prohibit all participation in the sport until after the doctor has given him or her clearance.

Torn Ligaments

Torn ligaments are also quite common in the NFL, and they can be detrimental to a player’s career. Usually, the most frequent and destructive ligament tear is the ACL tear. In order to prevent these injuries, players should work hard to strengthen their leg muscles. Furthermore, they should always stretch before practicing or playing. If it appears that the kid has received a ligament tear, then a doctor should be contacted.

Heat Injuries

Heat injuries usually occur because the players are not properly hydrated. Therefore, parents and coaches should always provide plenty of liquid for the kids while they are playing or practicing. Other ways to prevent heat injuries are to allow the kids to take frequent breaks, advise them to wear light clothing, and schedule practices and games at night. In order to prevent heat injuries associated with sunburns and skin cancer, kids should be advised to wear sunscreen whenever they are outside playing or practicing.

Sports are extremely fun, but the safety aspect is often neglected. Therefore, parents should make sure their kids are safe, and the best way to do this is to provide them with the proper equipment and knowledge about the sport in which they wish to participate. By following those rules and the tips noted above, kids can enjoy sports in a safe manner.

John O'Connor is a father, outdoorsman, sports enthusiast and passionate purveyor of living a healthy lifestyle.  Check out his blog at bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com.

Mama Lion

Zoo visit today! New lion cubs were recently born at the Woodland Park Zoo but the most amusing member of the family to watch was "Mom" who, like other species, had to physically get up and intervene when the kids got too rambunctious. Motherhood: The animal kingdom's most tiring job.

The Internet is with you or against you

Today I happened to be witness to the power of the Internet and social media.  Mostly it was liberating and worthy of a fist pump as the "little guy" emerged victorious, but it also hinted at how devastating it would be if this power were directed wrongly.

VS 



Allow me to set the scene.

There are 2 entities with the word "honest" in them: "Honest Company" (the natural diaper and household product company founded by Jessica Alba) and "Honest Toddler" (the pseudonym of a writer/Facebook'er/Tweeter who creates funny and truthful observations from a toddler's perspective.)  I subscribe to both of them, in that one sends me diapers on a monthly basis and the other entertains me on a daily basis.  They could not be more different.

But evidently Honest Company's lawyers thought it would be a smart thing to call Honest Toddler's sole proprietor and writer, Bunmi Laditan, and threaten her with a cease and desist order.  This is because they thought her brand might "cause confusion" between the two which would "get expensive" for her if she didn't delete her blog, Facebook page and Twitter account.  How scary and unreasonable.

However the power of the Internet should not be taken lightly.  Who needs a lawyer when you can exact "intervengeance" (internet vengeance--I just made up a new word!) on someone who done ya' wrong?  Keep in mind Honest Company has 193K Facebook followers & 37K Twitter followers but Honest Toddler has 113K Facebook followers & 221K Twitter followers.  Also keep in mind the demographic both of these companies play to is THE SAME (aka parents especially moms with wallets).  All the writer of Honest Toddler had to do was write a 3-4 sentence update on her Facebook page explaining what Honest Company had said.  *BOOM*  Like kicking a bees' nest, outraged fans swarmed the Honest Company's Facebook site and started calling them out on their bullying tactics and really sticking it to them by swearing they'd never buy Honest Company diapers or products again.  And that got their attention.

The content of the outraged comments ranged from shaming to out-and-out insults of the products or Ms. Alba herself.  I've seen these kind of angry mob convergence before with The Oatmeal vs. the lawyer.  It's awesome that individuals or small operations who have loyal fan bases can overcome corporate jackassery and threats with the power of individuals who wish to defend them but it's also rather scary how fast it moves on the Internet and what collateral damage can be done. In some cases, reputations are ruined, privacy violated and safety threatened not to mention commerce lost.

I don't think it took more than 30 minutes until the original alerting message on Honest Toddler's FB page disappeared and was replaced by one that said Honest Company had called her and was working out the "misunderstanding."  Ultimately they backed away from that cease and desist idea as fast as they could and then decided to make amends to the Honest Toddler legion by offering a contest to win a whole year of diapers.  Disaster averted, right?  Probably not, the damage was done if the messages on the Honest Company FB page are to be believed.  That's sad but more stupid.  Whomever thought going after Honest Toddler like that was a good idea was really kidding themselves.  Take that as a lesson of Internet Justice.

And Honest Company apologized...

Can the fans of Honest Toddler be bought?  Can grievances be redacted?  Can lawyers learn from their mistakes?  Stay tuned.

And I'd like to thank... (Oscar reactions)

Despite not really caring, I watched the Oscars this year.  (Thank you Wallers for a lovely evening.)  I even won the Oscar Pool--that never happens!  The dresses were okay but at this point in my life, the speeches are what really interest me.  I used to think how glamorous that whole affair was but now just imagining how much effort goes into getting ready--aggh, no thank you.

Generally the speeches were sincere but they threatened to play folks off with the Jaws theme if they went long--rather ominous.  The weirdest thing was that the Orchestra wasn't even in the auditorium; they were offsite in some studio.  Whatevs.

Two things about the speeches: One, the British do it best: brief, sincere and not just rattling off names. And two, class acts showed humility and honoring their fellow noms, cast/crew and family because those people all deserve an Oscar themselves for helping any given award winner to the stage.

Question: What's with all the blond, long-haired dudes winning awards tonight?

Q Tarantino: you're a greasy, self-centered jackass.  What you said sounds like a compliment to the writing pool you somehow managed to emerge from but it was really a self-congratulatory ego stroke.  Done with you.

Shirley Bassey: Was the upper part of the dress supposed to look like "skin"?  That was weird but I love that song Goldfinger.

Adele: I'm late to the party about appreciating you but I adore every time I see you accept an award.

Barbra Streisand: The entire gathering laughed when your light revealed you.  A bit too over the top but I guess that's just your style.  Shine on you crazy diamond.

Ang Lee: In all seriousness, I love how you said that you weren't going to waste time naming all the actors but you did have to mention your lawyer and your agent.  You said you HAD to.  Honesty--I don't think that gets lost in translation.  It was funny and you didn't even mean to be.

Ben Affleck: Nice acknowledgement of not holding grudges and the fact that a good marriage takes work.  You have definitely matured and I am very compelled to see your movie.

Daniel Day Lewis: Such a touching interplay with Meryl Streep.  Very humble and sweet.

Jennifer Lawrence: When you tripped, I'm yelling at the TV, "Somebody help her!"  Of course, Hugh Jackman, who just displaced Tom Hanks as the nicest guy in Hollywood, popped up to assist but you already were having another go at the stairs.  Good for you, girlfriend.  That's a really big, pouffy dress you're wearing.  Glad you won.  I like you and your sense of humor.  Never change.

Michelle Obama: I adore you as First Lady and for mom dancing, but what were you doing at the Oscars?

Jack Nicholson: They saved the best for the end and you are still crazy.

Six Months

I remember when Sidney hit 6 months, we took our first airplane ride with her for our first major family vacation: Hawaii.  So now that Calvin has crossed that line, I suppose we ought to start thinking about exotic destinations, right?  (I laugh maniacally then stop.)

No matter how you slice it, six months is a major milestone.  Calvin is sleeping through the night (mostly), sitting up (with the occasional teeter) and eating pureed foods.  He can hold a bottle himself, roll over, scoot on his tummy backwards and stay standing up while holding onto the coffee table.  Ken can't wait for him to start "exploring" but I can already tell he is going to get into everything in his quest for discovery.  I was secretly hoping we could delay it as long as possible but resistance seems futile.

He started out on the round colorful mat and moved himself to where he's pictured.

Biohazard!

On Monday this house lay in the cross-hairs of epic contagion as (1) I contracted some kind of stomach virus, (2) Sidney spiked a high temp + cough and (3) Calvin kept exploding out of his diapers with regrettable diarrhea.  Ken just bunkered down in his man cave hoping to make it through.  Turns out, my stomach illness was just a 24-hour thing and Calvin's deal was the unfortunate confluence of outgrowing size 3 diapers and trying new solid foods.  

But Sidney looked like a wet noodle, poor thing, and I began to have flashbacks of last November when we lost a whole month to the flu with the bonus of infecting members of my extended family at Thanksgiving.  After that, I vowed that I would not let illness-via-germ-hoarding-children ruin our lives for the next 10 to 15 years.  

Say what you will about homeopathy and naturopaths, but I say it can't hurt.  I consulted mine in early January and loaded up.  Western medicine is pragmatic about "wash your hands, take Vitamin C, don't rub your eyes" which is great and everything.  But what it doesn't do is pull you back from the brink or give you any defense after your 3-year-old coughs right in your face just as you are wiping her butt and you can't use your hands to shield yourself.  This week especially though, I felt like a broken record saying to Sidney: "Stay away from your brother!" "Don't touch his hands!" "Use a tissue!"   I went so far as to separate the kids on different floors so that she could cough, snot and watch her Disney movies on loop in the basement while Calvin bounced in his Jumperoo uninfected.  A 5-month-old can't take anything for colds other than saline spray and that's pretty ineffective.

Alarmingly, I felt myself starting to slip into the clutch of cold-land.  But with a combo of astragalus and echinacea in forms of a tincture, throat spray and chewables, plus extra Vitamin C, Gypsy Cold Care Tea and lots of OCD hand washing, that did the trick.  Per the naturopath, I also gave Sidney some special drops and she recovered much more quickly than last time (intra-week in fact)--she's been fever-free for over 48 hours and much less nasal drainage & coughing than before.  She even went to school today.  So BRAVO Eastern Medicine--don't let anyone give you any crap.  

Preschooler Media: Disney

As we slowly ease Sidney into watching television more regularly, we usually sit with her and share the experience.  Despite having a large existing Disney collection that I amassed well before her conception, she only watches a few select movies.  And when I say few, I mean three: Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh Movie and (newcomer) Cinderella.

We have also screened Curious George (series & feature film), The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, Elmo in Grouchland and Beauty & the Beast.  Surprisingly, what all these have in common is "too much peril" which has caused a good deal of upset.  It goes like this: crying at the conflict point in the story, then after calming down: a litany of questions about the character who caused such upset and finally: a proclamation of never wanting to watch it again. This reaction has relegated them to the back of the movie cabinet.  Also because Calvin's room is Star Wars themed, she will occasionally express interest in knowing more about it.  But there is NO way she'll be watching that now.  If she thinks Ursala is bad, wait til she sees Jabba the Hut...

With Sidney's relatively small media preference, I have become intimately familiar with the three favorite movies.  It's to the point that I analyze them to give myself something to do when stuck watching them yet again.

In principle, I always disliked the cliche ending of Cinderella from a modern woman's stand point but it wasn't until I bought this DVD for Sidney that I finally watched this movie all the way through.  (It struck me as one of the few Disney movies benign enough for her i.e. nobody dies) I had only seen parts of it as a child and as an adult, wasn't enamored with it enough to add it to my collection.  But now having really watched this film, damn, there is some hard core psychological (& physical) abuse, indentured servitude, an arranged marriage and some very bad singing (by the step sisters).  It was that servitude coupled with abuse that made me wonder if this would also be relegated to the back of the video cabinet also.  But wouldn't you know it, the only part that "concerned" Sidney was when the cat was trying to catch those mice in the kitchen.  Indeed, there were some questions from her about why the sisters rip parts of Cinderella's homemade dress but still the cat remains the only area of focus.

Ultimately, the whole guise of the ball is because the king wants his son to have babies.  (Because the prince is quite busy doing "something else" up to that point.)  So basically Cinderella's continual purpose is to be of service to someone.  I understand how she's rewarded with a seemingly better life for her ever present faith in the goodness of the world--that's an honorable quality--but it also seems like someone who just lets things happen to them rather than standing up for one's self.  The nauseating and strangely endearing concept of being saved by someone (rather than making it happen yourself) has I'm sure inspired many-a feminist dissertation on how the story warps little girls' perception of relationships and self-worth.  It is after all, the basis for most rom-coms.

As for Mary Poppins, I have often mused that Bert and Mary must be "doing it" given their undeniable chemistry.  But that "practically perfect in every way" schtick always bothers me.  She's so not practically perfect.  Mary puts Bert down all the time to make herself look better.  Meanwhile all Bert wants to do is help her and be there for the children--he's such an affable guy!  And make no mistake, Mary Poppins is one jealous b**ch.  She becomes so unhinged during "Jolly Holiday" when Bert lists all the other women's names.  It makes me want to smack the sooty mustache right off of her face.  (Did you notice that when they are doing the chimney sweep dance up on the rooftops and she powders her nose?) I'd like to give a shout out to Up Yours, Downstairs Podcast that usually evaluates Downton Abbey episodes but did an in-depth look at Mary Poppins due to it's Edwardian backdrop.  It inspired my critique.  Anyway.

And lastly Winnie the Pooh...that dude has food issues.  Seriously.  Always eating honey.  Always in search of honey.  Always hungry for honey.  How does that bear not have diabetes?  And the others, Piglet: Co-dependent.  Eeyore: Depression.  Rabbit: OCD.   

Definitely need more media in the rotation...