Contact and collision sports
Whether your child plays sports with tackling or collisions, and at what age, such as football, hockey or soccer heading.
Should we let our child play football and other contact sports?
In short: Parents choose between 3 main approaches: None; Non-contact versions until high school; Full participation with good coaching. Evidence: experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh. Best settled: school age.
- Evidence
- Experts disagree
- Best settled
- School age
- Part of
- Raising the child
Contact and collision sports: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 3 approaches.
1. None
The child does not play sports with tackling or body contact.
2. Non-contact versions until high school
The child plays versions without tackling or checking until high school.
3. Full participation with good coaching
The child plays the full sport, with a coach who teaches safe technique.
Contact and collision sports: what does the evidence say?
Experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh.
AAP declined to set a minimum tackling age; delaying bodychecking in hockey cut injuries by about half
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Sports with tackling or body-checking carry a risk of concussion. Many leagues now delay contact until older ages. Families weigh that risk against what the child gets from the team and the sport.
Questions to ask each other
- How do we feel about football, hockey or soccer heading for our child?
- At what age would we say yes?
- What would make us pull our child out?
More in Safety, risk and independence
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.