Health & Parenting

Keeping Kids Playing Injury-Free

What Parents Can Do to Promote Safety continued...

The experts tell WebMD that safety should be of concern to everyone involved: national safety and sports associations, communities, schools, sports leagues, the medical profession, parents, and athletes themselves.

"We can't eliminate all injuries," says Almquist. "But through safety education and on-site care, we'll have more minor injuries because we'll get to them before they become severe."

"Parents pay a lot of money for kids to participate in sports, and they assume there's someone in charge of keeping their children safe," says Morin. "But they have to ask if anyone is educated to recognize injuries and respond? If parents aren't asking for that, we can't raise the standard of safety."