- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting fitness articles
- iparenting fitness q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
One-sport Wonders
Should Your Child Specialize in a Single Sport?
By Sue Marquette Poremba
Many pediatricians, psychologists and educators believe that specialization in one sport can do more harm than good. "It is a mistake," says Michael Connor, professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach. "Kids need the preteen and early years to discover who they are." 
Part of that discovery is allowing the child to develop naturally. Because kids mature physically, mentally and emotionally at different rates, a child who has little coordination in the sixth grade may end up growing into their body by tenth grade. Unfortunately, a child who stands out athletically at an early age may be pegged as a star, and coaches and parents may lock the kid into a particular sport for the duration of the school career.
This doesn't allow for the maturation process. The child who specializes in one sport early in life may turn out to be average at best when it comes time for varsity play or college scholarships, and the kids who do mature late are shut out from participating in a sport at which they might excel.
Dr. Charles Shubin, director of pediatrics at Mercy FamilyCare in Baltimore, says that children often end up playing sports that don't match their physical abilities, which can also lead to injury. Another medical concern with sports specialization is overuse injuries. When children play different sports in different seasons, they are using a wide range of motions and muscles. But when they begin playing one sport year-round, the risk of overuse injuries increases.
"The knee of a child or adolescent is different than that of an adult, due to the presence of growth plates of the distal femur and proximal tibia," says Dr. Richard Hinton, orthopedic surgeon at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Md. The immature musculature of the knee less effectively stabilizes the knee, the ligaments resist stress less effectively and the articular cartilage is predisposed to repetitive trauma and injury. "Overuse injuries in the knee are often disregarded as growing pains," he says.
