Types of Protective Gear for Youth Sports

Kids playing sports benefits them in more ways than just trophies and ribbons. But there are a few drawbacks as a parent y’all. Understand that they are at risk of accident or injury, regardless of talent or experience. So, before you send your children to their first practice, it’s essential to understand the different types of protective gear for youth sports.

Head Gear

Each year, more and more children visit their local emergency room with some type of traumatic brain injury. Finding the proper headgear for your kids’ activity is vital to their safety and overall development. Typically, this protection will come in the form of some type of helmet.

When choosing a helmet, you want it to fit snugly without being too tight. Y’all should know that a sloppy-fitting helmet defeats the purpose and will not provide adequate protection. A space more than an inch in either direction means it’s not going to protect your child’s head properly.

Eye Protection

Like a helmet, eye protection will depend on the sport. It’s also possible your child requires prescription eye protection, in which case it may not matter what sport they choose. It’s vital to protect the eyes from external force and the elements, as these conditions are potentially harmful to developing eyes.

Too much force from another athlete or a ball can blow out the eye or cause damage to the eyelids. Also, harmful ultraviolet rays are damaging to vision while also making it more difficult to see clearly. Protective eyewear helps reduce the risk of injury by roughly 90%.

Body Armor

Even though I say head protection is vital, don’t neglect the body. Protecting your little athlete’s body with proper padding will not only save them from accidents, but it will also help or save them from season-ending ailments. Just remember that improper fitting pads don’t protect from anything.

Now, I know that we can’t protect our kids from absolutely everything; they don’t live in plastic-wrap bubbles. But through the different types of protective gear for youth sports, we can, at the minimum, do our best to minimize injury or accident. Good luck this season, y’all!

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