Head Injuries In Children 

 
Children like to be active and climb everywhere they possibly can, and because of their age, they have limited experience with danger and what is dangerous. As a result of this young children are far more likely to have falls from playground equipment than older children, and are more likely to receive head injuries.

Of course, once teenagers learn to drive, they are more at risk to be injured in a car accident, often with more horrific results than falls from playground equipment. Motor vehicle accidents are the cause of so many injuries these days as vehicles get faster, and people more impatient. However, reports state that once we get older, we are more likely to get head injuries as a result of falls, so we need to take care of the elderly!

Sports head injuries need to be carefully monitored, with the player not returning to the sport until there are absolutely no symptoms of head injury present. With regards to soccer, no players under the age of 14 should be heading the ball, since before this age the brain is still developing. Although there is very little research on children and teenagers with head injuries in soccer, a Norwegian study shows that adult soccer players, who head the ball more frequently than their team mates, do have a higher rate of cognitive loss. Moreover, a Dutch study in 1998 showed that the memory, planning and visual- perception tasks of professional soccer players declined as their number of concussions and the frequency of ball heading increased.

This is scary information, and if your children are going to be actively involved in a sport that has a high rate of head injuries, you might want to rethink, or at least look at prevention, before any damage is done. Some head injuries in soccer can be prevented too by learning the correct way to head a ball. Not all coaches, especially youth coaches, have had the training themselves to be able to teach heading the ball successfully to others. so if you have teenage soccer players, check whether your coach is qualified, and learn the correct way to head the ball. It could save a lot of heartache - or maybe I should say headaches!

When it comes to head injuries in children from playground equipment, it is a hard task to monitor children every second, and impossible to be there to protect them at every twist and turn of their play. These days playgrounds are built to a better standard, and the surrounding area is generally not concrete, as that has no "give" when anyone lands on it. Concrete will lead to the child's body "giving" in some way!

Some head injuries in children are caused by bicycle accidents, so it is important that children learn to protect their precious brains with a suitable helmet, worn whenever they are on their bike, or roller blading too. Sure the helmet may not be a great fashion statement, but they are designed to cushion the brain and protect it as much as they can.

So to summarize, sport related head injuries are not to be ignored. The more times a head is concussed, the easier it becomes to get concussed in the future, according to research. Whenever possible, use protective head gear, for example a helmet when bicycle riding, but at the same time, stay way from paranoia! Parents anxious about every step a child takes is no fun!