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Cheerleading is dangerous in general, but not any more dangerous than if your child is involved in other sports such as gymnastics, dance, volleyball, softball, etc. As any sport, the child must know how to take precautions and obey the rules. A lot of times kids get hurt because they are not obeying the rules. You can't always keep your child in a bubble their whole life!
It's when the coaches (the adults in charge) don't take reasonable precautions to prevent injury. This would include basic safety items like mats on the floor, and safety training like how to spot, how to fall, and how to build the skills necessary for a stunt before attempting it. In our experience, cheer has a very poor emphasis on these safety precautions and becomes needlessly dangerous.
Yes, every sport or activity that your child participates in can cause injury. And yes children can get hurt very badly when they don't follow the rules. But when the adults involved don't enforce the rules and don't take reasonable precautions to prevent injury, then they have failed the children. And those children can get seriously injured even when they are doing what they are told.
Most sports have risks. Soccer is or was the most dangerous sport. I am struggling to think of a sport where you cannot get badly hurt. Golf maybe? Curling. Curling seems pretty safe as long as they do not slip and fall ion the ice.
Now days people get really obsessed with their sports if they want to stand out. If they don't someone else will. The more obsessively involved they are, the further they go to demonstrate their prowess and that usually entails greater risk of injury. this is true of any sport.
I would suggest you watch the videos. We've been inundated on TV news here in the Denver area. It's not a pretty sight and way beyond "sports are inherently unsafe".
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Originally Posted by maciesmom
Same as any other HS sport. I've known families that spend a fortune on baseball or hockey too.
Some because the status, some in the hopes of a scholarship. I think it's crazy.
Yes, the hopes for a scholarship get ridiculous. Even though a very small percentage of kids go to college on a sports scholarship, and even fewer get full rides, many parents think their kid will be "the one". My daughters did gymnastics for many years including HS gymnastics (which is not the route to college scholarships in that sport). You wouldn't believe the parents who think their kids, who are demonstrably not top in their sport, will get a scholarship. We decided it was better for our kids to focus on their grades and try to get academic scholarships, which they did, small ones.
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Originally Posted by CGab
I have 2 daughter ages 11 & 9. They have been going to cheerleading camps for years. Some through the park districts and others through their gymnastics center or the local high school. This is my take on them......
Park district cheer camps are NOT safe! We did a couple of them and I put a stop to it They are typically run by teenagers from the local H.S. and are somewhat safe; however, they usually do not have enough staff to make them actually safe as most of the girls who participate are new to cheerleading and don't know how to be safe and need extra spotting, etc.
High School summer cheer camps: Typically safe as they will have plenty of H.S. cheerleaders there to spot for tumbling, stunts, etc. There is usually a few coaches there as well and mats for stunts. What makes it not safe is that they usually have a big turn out and campers might try to do stunts while the spotter or coach is not paying attention or around to help. Most of the helpers are H.S. students.
Cheer camps at a gymnastics center: Probably the most safe as they have a good ratio or coaches to campers. The coaches are fully trained in safety procedures. Lots of mats available.
Cheerleading is dangerous in general, but not any more dangerous than if your child is involved in other sports such as gymnastics, dance, volleyball, softball, etc. As any sport, the child must know how to take precautions and obey the rules. A lot of times kids get hurt because they are not obeying the rules. You can't always keep your child in a bubble their whole life!
I have a hard time believing that any camp run by HS kids, adequately staffed or not, is safe. Most of these HS kids have no safety training, a lot of cheer coaches don't either.
That said, when my great-niece made cheer, a number of us "older generation" were happy because she'd be doing something with kids who are into school, as opposed to getting involved with girls who want to get pregnant, stuff like that.
Cheerleading is dangerous in general, but not any more dangerous than if your child is involved in other sports such as gymnastics, dance, volleyball, softball, etc. As any sport, the child must know how to take precautions and obey the rules. A lot of times kids get hurt because they are not obeying the rules. You can't always keep your child in a bubble their whole life!
Well it is measurably more dangerous than many other sports.
I'm not judging. It would cross a line for me. Football crosses a line for me, but my son is a talented hockey player (more dangerous than many sports) and I allow it and pray...so seriously I understand allowing kids to do things that they love. But you have to be honest with yourself about the risks. And you are so so right about making sure your child and their coaches are following the rules.
so here's the thing, when they are cheering at games, are there mats and spotters then?
What they do for competitive cheer is way beyond anything you will see on the sidelines. But even for sideline cheer when someone is sent up high there's another cheerleader who is spotting.
My niece has been in cheerleading for 4-5 years now. She's 11 and has already worn down the cartilage in her knees and has regular aches and pains. She's fit and quite small for her age. Was always the one they tossed around and sent to the top of the pile. She enjoys it, but it has physiological effects that will last forever (Or until she has knee surgery, which my sister reports her doctor already mentioned.)
Like with all sports, there has to be strict safety guidelines in place and followed 100% of the time. I personally think that these super-expensive, super-serious, travel-the-country kid's sports are rather ridiculous. A kid could have just as much fun and learn teamwork, etc. in a small, community game. Or they should be able to.
Of course its unsafe. But what a stupid reason not to play sports!
Soccer, Football, Gymnastics, Hockey, Basketball, Baseball, Softball, all have a high risk of injury.
My college friend was a swimmer and she had two or three shoulder operations. An old roommate tore his achilles playing tennis.
I broke a kid's wrist Freshman year in HS playing softball in Gym class.
I got a concussion in a baseball game.
While concussions and head trauma is a serious business, and needs to be taken seriously, take a time out and look at the broader picture: There are about 1,000,000 High School football players every football season. 1 Million. And while the physical price paid to play in the NFL (or even D1 College) is steep, you simply don't notice any particular health epidemics among former high school football players.
So it is with Cheer. Of all the former cheerleaders you know, how many of them weren't able to complete an education, have a career, normal life, etc, because of their cheer injuries?
So, while parents should be diligent on a micro-level about their kid's well being, depriving them of whole experiences due to safety concerns is asinine. This isn't bull riding.
I think society has gone over the top with competition. Kids in high school do not have the maturity to make decisions, way too many risks in some things like cheerleading. I think it is crazy to watch a kid being thrown up high and just hope someone catches her/him. I think it is crazy to have young kids have their heads slammed into with football helmets. When I was in high school kids had to run a couple of miles, now they run 5-10 miles--it has gone over the top. After watching the movie, "Concussion" --not that I was ever into football--I cannot watch it.
I think society has gone over the top with competition. Kids in high school do not have the maturity to make decisions, way too many risks in some things like cheerleading. I think it is crazy to watch a kid being thrown up high and just hope someone catches her/him. I think it is crazy to have young kids have their heads slammed into with football helmets. When I was in high school kids had to run a couple of miles, now they run 5-10 miles--it has gone over the top. After watching the movie, "Concussion" --not that I was ever into football--I cannot watch it.
Yes I agree, and believe that is why I stopped watching football, it is way too brutal, and the movie Concussion was in fact a huge eye opener. It's all about greed, they get these young parents suckered in, and away they go, spending all kinds of money on something those kids will never take with them, except the good memories from team members, but is it worth the risk, is my question.
The little girl I know who fell and had two concussions, her mom lives for cheer, and it's ridiculous. In order for those kids to gain her acceptance, they feel it would be a betrayal to her not to.
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