Would you let your kids play hockey

[LamorielloAndSon]

simple question, but with everything that has been discovered about brain injuries in the last 5 or 10 years not even needing to be caused by hits to the head but clean shoulder to chest hits as well as how there is a mentality among hockey players at all levels to play through pain would you still let your kids play ice hockey?

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[Filthy Dangles]

No, the risk of him being drafted by the Oilers is too high.

 

[puckpilot]

No kid of mine will ever get hurt. I've figured it all out. :p

But seriously, you probably only have to really really worry if your kid becomes an enforcer.

Otherwise, there's a risk of injury for every sport. Generally, the more serious he sport gets, IMHO, the more serious the injuries will become. So if it's just for fun, the risk factor becomes less.

I have a friend who had some serious concussion issues. The doctor told him that yes there's a risk if he keeps playing, but if he doesn't get any exercise, there's also a risk associated with that, too, especially because their family has a history of heart attacks.

I have another friend who quite because of concussions, but then they slipped on the stairs and conked their head. Gave them a worse concussion than they ever got from hockey.

 

[HansonBro]

Must not be Canadian

 

[thunder16]

If you eliminate all the sports that have a risk of suffering a concussion you are basically left with Bowling.
Make sure you don't have a shower either because many people have died falling and hitting their head.

 

[EdJovanovski]

We might get in a car accident if we drive anywhere so my kid is never leaving the house

 

[LeifUK]

If I had kids, I’d encourage them to play a team sport as it helps socialise them, which will help in later life, and there’s nothing wrong with the odd bruise. I would worry if they started playing contact hockey and especially if they didn’t wear a face cage.

We might get in a car accident if we drive anywhere so my kid is never leaving the house

Hopefully you lock him/her in a room with padded walls and no sharp edged furniture. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Yukon Joe]

Unlike some of the snide remarks provided here, I have thought about this issue, and I can and do have my kids playing hockey.

You're right that it's not just the big concussions that can cause CTE, but numerous sub-concussive level hits. It is for this reason that I would try to have my kids not play full contact football - hitting in that sport is unavoidable.

But "hockey" is really a series of related rulebooks, but they're not all identical. I can tell you that at least in Edmonton minor hockey, body checking is only allowed for older players, and only at higher levels of competition. If you're not at those higher levels, you can go right through your entire minor hockey career without there being any body checking.

If any of my kids want to play at a a AAA, AA, A or B level of play (and if they're good enough), then we can have a chat about what that's like when they hit Bantam, and what the risks are. But also given that you're dealing with more skilled players, I think those players are better able to watch out for themselves.

Also as an adult, you can choose to play in rec leagues where hitting is not allowed. I'm playing in something called the NCHL, the Non-Contact Hockey League.

 

[ref19]

Hockey for sure. Football is probably a different story.

 

[JMCx4]

... But seriously, you probably only have to really really worry if your kid becomes an enforcer. ...

OR ... the target of an enforcer. Or if your kid is shorter than opposing players, so that their shoulders or lifted elbows have a higher probability of contact with your kid's head.

OP must remember that when you ask such questions on a hockey forum, you must consider the responses as biased toward participation in the game the respondents all love. Choose the advice wisely.

 

[JMCx4]

If you eliminate all the sports that have a risk of suffering a concussion you are basically left with Bowling. ...

Well, maybe not ...

 

[Slats432]

Hockey for sure. Football is probably a different story.

This is entirely accurate. Our boy in grade 10 was 6'2 194. There was zero chance he was playing football. Hockey is a collision sport but you get to choose your contact. He has never had a serious injury. (Knock on wood)

 

[puckpilot]

OR ... the target of an enforcer. Or if your kid is shorter than opposing players, so that their shoulders or lifted elbows have a higher probability of contact with your kid's head.

Last time I checked there aren't too many enforcers running around at ages 13 and below elbowing other kids and starting bare knuckle fist fights.

And as I said in my initial post, the more serious the hockey, the more likely there's a chance for serious injury. The vast majority of kids who enter minor hockey will never make it into anything resembling serious hockey, so the odds are most kids aren't going to face the same level of danger.

OP must remember that when you ask such questions on a hockey forum, you must consider the responses as biased toward participation in the game the respondents all love. Choose the advice wisely.

Of course there's going to be bias, but which is the better option, to ask someone who has no experience with the game or minor hockey or to ask people who may have first hand experience and can give a more informed answer to the question?

People who have kids in minor hockey, in general, have probably thought about these issues a lot more than people who don't, because they have a genuine stake in the matter, their kid's health.

 

[WolfgangPuck]

I reinforce idea of safety. Equipment must be worn and helmet at all times. Best you can do is to protect yourself
I don’t let my kids figure skate cause pros don’t wear helmets. One bad fall and hit the head on the ice can cause serious brain injury
Professional figure skaters ought to wear helmets

 

[MartinS82]

If you eliminate all the sports that have a risk of suffering a concussion you are basically left with Bowling.
Make sure you don't have a shower either because many people have died falling and hitting their head.

How are you getting to the bowling alley? Driving, cause that's dangerous too.

 

[Jjbuck]

My kid plays, started at 7 and looking forward to playing his Sr yr HS next season.

After 10 yrs, I'm still surprised at the number of parents worried about imjuries, who also have never paid for a quality checking clinic.

We found a great local guy that runs top notch clinics of all kinds. My kid was one of the smaller, and slowest skaters when he was little, every team.

We knew he was going to get crushed. So, we started him in checking clinics a full 2 years before he could hit, and kept with it the first 2 years he played full contact.

Went through 3 different org's running clinics, decided the first was the best. He averaged 2 clinics a year. So he had at least 8 clinics, over 4 years, with different instructors.

In HS hockey, any player can get hurt at any time on any play. But we dont go in with any fears as parents. He's still not a big kid, average size at best. He's very strong on his skates. Plays 100% heads up hockey. And for years has known how to both deliver and accept a solid hit. He skates through most stuff, when he goes down, we expect him to bounce right back up.

When he gets blown up, its usually eating a hit to make a play. Everyone around gasps, the wife and I just expect him to pop back up.

Giving them a solid foundation early is the best piece of equipment going! Playing scared just gets kids hurt.

Start early. Before you need it. Then enjoy the next 10 years.

 

[Albatros]

No way, too high risk of head injuries plus way too expensive.

 

[DannyGallivan]

simple question, but with everything that has been discovered about brain injuries in the last 5 or 10 years not even needing to be caused by hits to the head but clean shoulder to chest hits as well as how there is a mentality among hockey players at all levels to play through pain would you still let your kids play ice hockey?

Well, there is a balance between the helicopter parent "bubblerapping" their little snowflake, and the dangers of contact sports. I'm of the generation that never had mandatory seatbelts (until about a year after I got my driver's license, anyways), no mandatory bike helmets and the first few years I played hockey we wore a mouth guard but nothing covering the rest of our faces (there was more concern about our teeth than our eyes, apparently).

Having said all that, I am overprotective of my kid (he's seven years-old). I still have him in hockey (as well as soccer and golf), which he loves. However, unlike me, I will dissuade him from ever playing contact football. While hockey isn't safe, it's still not at the level of football when it comes to concussions.

 

[DannyGallivan]

How are you getting to the bowling alley? Driving, cause that's dangerous too.

Next to motorcycles, nothing is more dangerous than driving in the car. And to think, when I was my son's age we weren't even buckled up.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The risk of head injuries isn't a particularly good reason to keep them out of hockey altogether. If you're really worried about them, it's super easy to put your kid in a non-checking league. They're no more likely to get concussed in a non-checking league than they are playing volleyball or basketball, never mind soccer which is a high concussion risk sport. In no-check hockey you're much more likely to deal with joint injuries, like in nearly any other sport.

 

[Bongo420]

I'd let him play shinny. Organized would be up to him. I would never deprive someone from playing shinny as that's what gave me my love of hockey. The politics burned me out playing, not the game. Of course concussions are another factor now.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Unlike some of the snide remarks provided here, I have thought about this issue, and I can and do have my kids playing hockey.

You're right that it's not just the big concussions that can cause CTE, but numerous sub-concussive level hits. It is for this reason that I would try to have my kids not play full contact football - hitting in that sport is unavoidable.

But "hockey" is really a series of related rulebooks, but they're not all identical. I can tell you that at least in Edmonton minor hockey, body checking is only allowed for older players, and only at higher levels of competition. If you're not at those higher levels, you can go right through your entire minor hockey career without there being any body checking.

If any of my kids want to play at a a AAA, AA, A or B level of play (and if they're good enough), then we can have a chat about what that's like when they hit Bantam, and what the risks are. But also given that you're dealing with more skilled players, I think those players are better able to watch out for themselves.

Also as an adult, you can choose to play in rec leagues where hitting is not allowed. I'm playing in something called the NCHL, the Non-Contact Hockey League.

B level is house league, so if your kids play, they at least play in that level. Then again, that's basically what would come before 'A' level hockey.

In my town, or rather just outside of my town there's an outdoor league for kids. They mix a few ages, but it's really cheap for families who want their kids to play, but can't afford the "real" thing. There's no hitting, or anything, just kids trying to play hockey for fun.

If people don't want their kids to play in a typical organized league, or you just can't afford it, check around for a league like this.

As for me, yes I would. You don't learn hitting until you're somewhere around 12- 14 in Ontario, so by that age most kids would be able to understand the magnitude of brain damage and understand the risk and possibility of damage, or no damage.

 

[HansonBro]

If I look back at things now, hockey is absolutely dangerous. The risk/reward thing has me questioning everything and maybe that's what the OP was was asking. I chose to be at every game though. It was my choice and I still thank my parents for giving me the opportunity.

On the hockey side of things, I was absolutely the last person you wanted to face. Ill just say I enjoyed watching trees falling. So I played hockey hard, put myself in the worst spots possible and can only really think of one time I was blacked out from a hit. Kid had a vendetta on me from earlier in the game and caught me like 6 seconds too late. I was conscious but couldn't see, it was just black. The ringing in my ears was my only sense. But i got up and tried to get back into the play, hell it was AAA tryouts lol.

My only regret these days at only 35 is what toll did hockey take on me. Did that one hit cause brain damage? I dont know. But I do know I feel old, tired and sore. Rugby didnt help either

 

[MDCSL]

My sons are 6 and 1, the six year old is going into his second year of hockey. Not worried at all about concussions, he’s doing kids MMA and boxing as well.

 

[Primary Assist]

100%. Some of the most important skills I've learned in my life were taught/reinforced on the ice or in the locker room. The game is only getting safer and more regulated, and while the presence of head injuries and CTE is terrifying, other sports such as girls soccer have drastically higher rates of concussion.

More importantly, I wouldn't want to deprive my theoretical future kid of what is in my opinion the most fun activity in the world.