Related: Are Extracurricular Activities Really Enriching Our Kids' Lives?
Should parents worry about overscheduling their kids? Of course. But with a continued increase in youth sports injuries, mom and dad might also want to brush up on how to keep their kids safe.
"Sports participation is a double-edged sword," says James Gamble, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Stanford, Calif. "Too little has given rise to the fact that one-third of children are obese. Too much has given rise to acute and overuse injuries."
According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, more than 8,000 children are treated each day in emergency rooms
Blog Posts by Charlene Prince Birkeland, Team Mom
5 Tips to Help Prevent Youth Sports Injuries
By Charlene Prince Birkeland, Team Mom | Team Mom – Sun, Apr 8, 2012 3:38 PM EDTTeam Mom Pep Talk with Kristi Yamaguchi: Lessons from a Lifelong Athlete
By Charlene Prince Birkeland, Team Mom | Team Mom – Sun, Apr 8, 2012 3:37 PM EDTTeam Mom Pep Talk with Kristi Yamaguchi.Kristi Yamaguchi may have an Olympic Gold Medal, a ginormous trophy from her win on "Dancing with the Stars," and dozens of other awards and accolades from her 20-plus years as a world-champion figure skater and philanthropist, but one of her biggest challenges these days is managing her family's schedule.
The busy mom (she's married to retired NHL player Bret Hedican and they have two daughters Keara Kiyomi, 8, and Emma Yoshiko, 6) uses iCalendar to keep track of activities. "I'm really on top of scheduling," Kristi laughs, "I'm constantly organizing the calendar." It's color coded and synced up with her husband's calendar so he can see the family schedule at a glance. And right now, Kristi's color is filling up the days as she celebrates the release of her second children's book, "It's a Big World, Little Pig." Her first children's book, "Dream Big, Little Pig," debuted at #2 on The New York Times bestsellers list.
Related: Our favorite children's books with sports
Read More »from Team Mom Pep Talk with Kristi Yamaguchi: Lessons from a Lifelong AthleteSimple, Healthy Breakfasts to Serve Before the Big Game
By Charlene Prince Birkeland, Team Mom | Team Mom – Mon, Mar 26, 2012 5:49 PM EDTYour kid has the first game of the day on a Saturday morning. What should you serve for breakfast? Skip the donuts or french toast and bacon. You'll need to dish up something light, healthy and easy on the stomach. (It doesn't hurt if it's easy on the eyes, too!)
