Supporting Your Child In A Dangerous Sport

As many of you see on my Instagram feed, my boys are into a very risky sport. Not to say other sports aren’t risky, but this one in particular is an extreme sport for sure. They LOVE supercross and motocross and my oldest rides an ATV. When they chose to do this, the gravity of the risk they wanted to take never crossed my mind, to be honest. Just the other day, another mother asked me what their hobbies were and the sport they enjoyed playing. When I shared their love of motocross with her, the response she gave was, “isn’t that pretty dangerous?!”. My response, “isn’t every sport dangerous?” She really felt that, as a mom, the level of risk should have been the line at which I would say, “NO!, You cannot do that.” To be honest, that thought never even crossed my mind.

When my husband and I met, he rode motorcycles. He actually taught me how to ride and to ride an ATV as well. I was immediately ADDICTED to the speed. It was a high that I had never had before (FYI I have never done drugs). I enjoyed my husband taking me back and forth to college on his motorcycle and never worried about the speed. I knew he was experienced, for one because he rode these motorcycles back home in The Dominican Republic, so I trusted him. Thankfully, we were never in an accident. Like I said, clocking the triple digits on the highway was risky but we stayed safe!

When the boys took a liking to the sport I was all for it and actually amazed. My oldest who is classified as ASD really enjoys riding. It helps him to stay focused and follow verbal directions. He’s able to socialize with other children his age and he works on his hand-eye coordination. My youngest learned how to ride a dirt bike before even riding a regular bike at 4 years old. I was amazed at how well he managed the bike too. There was an instant connection to this dangerous sport for both of them and I could really tell they both loved riding. How could I NOT support them?

 Even this past weekend, when we witnessed someone get injured on the track and break three ribs, I didn’t have my boys stop. They continued to ride and I made no mention of the rider getting hurt until after the fact. They know that they can get hurt but they know this is true of any sport. My husband reminds them to be safe riders to prevent motorcycle accidents and always look out for themselves and other riders on the track.

 So, when someone looks at me as if I have twenty heads when I tell them what they do instead of playing the “regular” sports of baseball, basketball or soccer, I remind them that I support whatever they like. Yes, it may be dangerous but it’s something they love to do. It keeps them busy and very active. The maneuvering of the bike helps them with staying fit. They love to be outdoors, meet other riders, learn more about speed and coordination and they love to compete. They don’t compete to win, they compete to feel accomplished and have fun. I always remind them when they stop having fun, that’s when it ends. You want to enjoy what you do and you can’t let the opinions of others scare you away!

 I am so happy that my husband and I support them in what they choose to do. I know many people just want their children to stick to the regular sports but this is something “different” that they truly enjoy. It’s a sport that brings our entire family together and allows us to travel and spend quality time with one another. We wouldn’t trade this sport for the world because it’s definitely a part of who we are. Speed runs through our veins and support runs in our family!

Care to share: Would you let your child participate in a high risk sport?