SUNDAY, April 20, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- As playgrounds, ball fields and courts start to fill up with kids this spring, safety is increasingly on parents' minds -- a concern that's well-founded, considering the recent record of athletic injuries.
Some 3 million to 5 million youngsters are treated annually in U.S. hospital emergency rooms for sports-related accidents, according to the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation Inc. (NYSSF). Another 8 million receive non-urgent care from their family physicians for athletic injuries.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently estimated that injuries to children younger than 15 years old involved with 29 popular sports cost the U.S. public more than $49 billion.
It's a big and growing problem, but, as NYSSF notes, most of these injuries can be prevented.
For those who want kids to be as safe as possible while playing baseball, softball, kickball, gymnastics, track and other sports, the foundation recommends reviewing safety issues such as these:
Responses to these key safety concerns can help parents, coaches and public officials plan ways to improve youth athletic programs this spring -- and year-round.
More information
The American College of Sports Medicine offers suggestions for sports safety.