My Child Getting Hurt is my Worst Nightmare, But What Can I Really Do About it?
Concussions are very scary, but how do you help your child from the sidelines? Well, you have more influence than you may think over if your child will report concussion symptoms or try to keep going...
Even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, your children look up to you for an example on how to act in almost all situations, including how they should react to getting hurt in sports. The purpose of this article was to see what made parents more likely to talk with their children about concussions.
The intention of this article is to first, emphasize that you have a strong influence on how your child views concussions. Educating your child on concussions is very important and determines if they are likely to actually report a concussion or sweep it under the rug. Secondly, to give some tips and tricks on how to talk to your child about concussions and hopefully serves as a conversation starter.
This article gives so much clarity about how to talk to your child about concussions. First, knowing how important what you say and your attitudes about concussions are to your child. The authors found that sport parents whose children had previously had a concussion were much more likely to have a talk about concussions with their child, but if your child has never been diagnosed with a concussion now is your chance! It’s much better to try to talk to them before so they know what their headache or nausea actually means, and that they need to take some time on the sidelines if this happens.
PRESS PAUSE:
Think about your attitudes on concussions are, what do you actually know about concussions, and what is still a mystery to you?
PONDER:
Have you ever actually talked with your child about concussion?
PRACTICE:
Okay now that you know how important you are, the next step is knowing what to say. Make sure that you educate your child about what the symptoms of concussions are. A simple conversation can make a world of difference. Then, tell them how important it is to sit out until your doctor says you are okay to go back in. Okay, so maybe your child thinks they are invincible and a headache won’t stop them from playing. Also make sure you tell them about the long-term consequences on their athletic performance. Untreated concussions can cause slower reaction time and worse thinking abilities, both of which can seriously make for terrible sport performance. Lastly, talk to someone who has had a concussion so you can get a more personal experience of what a concussion is actually like. Concussions are not injuries that we can see, but they can have major effects on all areas of our athlete’s lives for both the short and long term if they think they can “though it out.”
So we’ve given all these tips on what to do to prevent concussions, but what even is a concussion...I know it’s a brain thing, right? Check out this awesome video for all things concussion knowledge:
Article Citation: Kroshus, E., Stellino, M. B., Chrisman, S. P. D., & Rivara, F. P. (2017). Threat, pressure, and communication about concussion safety: Implications for parent concussion education. Health, Education & Behavior, 00(0), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198117715669