Yara Sherif, a mother of two kids in primary school, is proud to be standing apart from the crowd.
"As kids ourselves, we played sports on a regular basis, but never did our parents force sports into our daily routine as we do nowadays [with our children]," she calmly tells Ahram Online.
"What I am sure of, is that we were healthy and happy and less stressed, that’s why I refuse to do what other mothers do regarding the heavy schedule of sports training," she adds.
Yara is indeed an exception among upper-middle class Egyptians, as many parents these days feel peer-obliged to enrol children in at least one kind of sport from a very early age.
The stress and the time strain on kids and parents apparent in most parents' conversations.
"Especially on schooldays, when we are practically juggling duties of school and sports amid constantly horrendous traffic everywhere," comments Sara Ibrahim, a mother of three kids who regularly play water polo.
When we take into consideration the data presented by the Egyptian National Institute of Research, indicating that one-third of kids in Egypt under the age of 19 are obese, it becomes undeniable that integration of sports for children is important.
However, the physical injuries and psychological burdens that come along with sports beg the question; does the benefit outweigh the harm?
A few weeks ago, Reuters reported on a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), whose authors advise trainers and parents of young athletes not to let kids focus on or specialise in a single sport before puberty.
“If you only play a certain sport, and get really good at it, the same muscles, tendons and ligaments get stressed over and over again, leading to overuse injuries,” Dr. Avery Faigenbaum, professor at the College of New Jersey, said in the report.
When pressure sets in...
Dr Mostafa El-Moneiery, who has served as the official health consultant for many major football teams in Egypt, emphasises on the psychological burden we unintentionally put on our little ones.
"If we look at Egyptian society, we actually notice that vigorous sports for children is not associated with the poor or unfortunate who lack time, money and sport facilities, but rather with the middle to upper classes who are paying more attention to these activities and who can afford to pay for trainers and sport academies," says Dr El-Moneiery, adding that this is exactly the problem.
"Unfortunately this is an angle that nobody talks about. The more parents pay for training their children, the higher their expectations become, putting extra pressure on the children to become better and on the coaches and trainers to achieve more, as if it’s an obligation that the child turns into an athletic hero in no time.”
"Parents do not notice the profoundly negative effect this might have on kids. That’s why throughout our practice we frequently come across children and adults suffering from aches and illnesses that stem purely from psychological factors,” El-Moneiery says.
"For instance, I had a football player from a famous football league team come to me the other day complaining from aches and diarrhoea, only to discover that it was just due to the severe pressure prior to a match. So if an adult can't stand this kind this kind of stress, can we imagine the same impact on a child?"
Too much, too early
The early age at which we let our children practice hard brings up many question; how soon is too soon?
El-Moneiery stresses that many kids’ muscles are “burned out” too soon.
"Through my practice and over the last decade, I have seen more and more parents enthusiastic about their children starting certain kinds of sports at an early age, including gymnastics, swimming, tennis and squash,” he says.
"But the point with very early hard training is that it is actually not that beneficial until a boy reaches puberty, when testosterone helps in building up muscles. A girl can start prior to puberty by a year or two."
"Until puberty, we recommend training that establishes technique and style rather than vigorous exercise that focuses on power. In other words, if you want your child to start early in sports, do not focus on one sport only, and don’t push hard or pressure him, but rather focus on style, not on building muscle, as logically this should come later."
Putting things into perspective
"Not only does playing a sport help us with understanding discipline, teamwork, and building good spirits, but a sport match also mimics real life: we have to prepare ourselves for an exam at school as we train hard for a match or a competition, and we are taught that if we lose once, not only do we accept it, but understand that its part of the game, and we try harder next time, the same happens when we face failures in life.
"I always advise parents to understand that kids' sports should be a manifestation of these ideas, not a hectic pursuit of medals and trophies."
The AAP study advises young athletes to keep in mind that sports at a very young age should be focusing on lifelong physical activity and having fun, stressing that engaging in multiple sports until puberty – as opposed to focusing on just one – decreases risk of stress, burnout and injury.
The study suggests that kids who specialise in a single sport take one or two days off a week and three months off to allow for physical and psychological recovery.
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