As the pressure turns on, younger athletes are being sent to the ER. A study published in the journal Pediatrics reveals that childhood concussions have doubled, even though sport participation has decreased.
According to the study which looked at concussions in children over a span of 10 years, “Football has the highest incidence of concussion, but girls have higher concussion rates than boys do in similar sports.” Of approximately 500,000 ER visits for concussions, more than half were related to sports injuries.
Does this mean that kids should stop playing sports? Nope. Perhaps parents should be smarter about prevention and make sure their athlete kids wear helmets and better protective gear. (Check out a TIME cover story about concussions in football.)
