Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The achievement culture problem in our country

Claire McCarthy, MD
Patient
August 8, 2011
Share
Tweet
Share

My friend Nancy went for physical therapy for her back pain the other day, and was really surprised by what she saw there: the place was full of kids.

“Yeah, it’s like this now,” said the therapist when Nancy asked about it. “It’s the sports.”

It’s not that kids are getting clumsier or having more accidents. The injuries that are sending kids to physical therapy are overuse injuries. Kids these days are specializing in a sport as early as elementary school, and spending many more hours a week in practice than we ever did as kids—and we’re seeing the consequences.

In a newly-released study authored by Children’s Hospital Boston’s Mininder Kocher, MD, and Alison Field, ScD, researchers found that girls engaging in eight or more hours of high-impact activities (especially running, basketball, cheerleading and gymnastics) per week were twice as likely to have a stress fracture as those engaged in such activities for four hours or fewer. These stress fractures, if not detected and treated early, can lead to worse fractures, deformities and growth problems. Some may need surgery.

“We are seeing stress fractures more frequently in our pediatric and adolescent athletes,” says Kocher. “This likely reflects increased intensity and volume of youth sports. It is not uncommon to see young athletes participating in more than 20 hours of sports per week.”

My older son, Zack, stopped doing any other sport except swimming when he was 9 years old. A big part of the reason—really, the biggest part—was that he loved swimming. But there was also the reality that in order to be successful at it—make even the lowest level of championships, be in the top half at USA Swimming meets—he had to spend a lot of hours in the pool. That’s what all the other successful swimmers were doing, and Zack wanted to be successful. It didn’t leave time for other sports.

We were lucky; he didn’t have any injuries. He broke his wrist once, but that was in gym; as a swimmer, he didn’t know that you were supposed to overrun first base, not slide into it. But he did burn out. He hit a plateau in high school, and got really frustrated and discouraged. Swimming became a source of anxiety and exhaustion for him, not fun. He didn’t want to quit the team, but when he graduated from high school he left the sport behind.

Swimming fewer hours a week, and not swimming year-round, would have meant many fewer ribbons and medals for Zack. It would have meant being a recreational swimmer, not a competitive one. My husband and I would have been fine with that, but the coaches would have given him a hard time. He would have had a lesser status on the team, and that would have been hard for him. He wouldn’t have been chosen as captain, and he loved being captain.

See, that’s the thing. To decrease the number of overuse injuries, we will need to change the culture of youth sports. We can encourage parents to limit the number of hours their children practice and compete, and make sure they know that specializing early is dangerous. We can educate coaches. But unless we can get our culture to take a collective deep breath and let go of the idea that kids need to not just play sports but achieve in them, we will get nowhere.

This emphasis on achievement in sports is just one facet of the achievement culture problem in our country. It’s understandable and commendable to want the best for our children, but somehow we’ve gotten it into our heads that in order to have the best they have to be the best—in school, in sports, in everything. And it’s just not true. In fact, pushing to be the best can be bad for kids, physically and emotionally.

I think we need to start early with our kids and ourselves. We need to set different expectations and different goals. Don’t talk Harvard—talk college. Don’t talk A’s—talk trying their best. When it comes to sports, don’t talk winning—talk playing. I have a 5-year-old, so I have another chance at all this; I will do it with you. We’ll buck the trend together. We’ll be rebels, fighting for a cause.

And one by one, bit by bit, we will take back childhood for our children.

Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the medical director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Martha Eliot Health Center.  She blogs at Thrive, the Children’s Hospital Boston blog.

ADVERTISEMENT

Submit a guest post and be heard on social media’s leading physician voice.

Prev

My primary care frustration is outweighed by my relationships with patients

August 8, 2011 Kevin 3
…
Next

The insensitivity towards kids with food allergies

August 9, 2011 Kevin 3
…

Tagged as: Patients, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
My primary care frustration is outweighed by my relationships with patients
Next Post >
The insensitivity towards kids with food allergies

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Claire McCarthy, MD

  • Sometimes, talking to strangers is necessary

    Claire McCarthy, MD
  • Maybe God made teenagers difficult so we can let them go

    Claire McCarthy, MD
  • 4 mistakes parents make in the pediatrician’s office

    Claire McCarthy, MD

More in Patient

  • AI’s role in streamlining colorectal cancer screening [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • There’s no one to drive your patient home

    Denise Reich
  • Dying is a selfish business

    Nancie Wiseman Attwater
  • A story of a good death

    Carol Ewig
  • We are warriors: doctors and patients

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • The hidden cost of becoming a doctor: a South Asian perspective

      Momeina Aslam | Education
    • Why fixing health care’s data quality is crucial for AI success [PODCAST]

      Jay Anders, MD | Podcast
    • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

      Miguel Villagra, MD | Tech
    • When errors of nature are treated as medical negligence

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

      Miguel Villagra, MD | Tech
    • Navigating fair market value as an independent or locum tenens physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Gaslighting and professional licensing: a call for reform

      Donald J. Murphy, MD | Physician
    • How self-improving AI systems are redefining intelligence and what it means for health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How blockchain could rescue nursing home patients from deadly miscommunication

      Adwait Chafale | Tech
    • When service doesn’t mean another certification

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Physician
    • Why medical students are trading empathy for publications

      Vijay Rajput, MD | Education
    • The hidden cost of becoming a doctor: a South Asian perspective

      Momeina Aslam | Education
    • Why fixing health care’s data quality is crucial for AI success [PODCAST]

      Jay Anders, MD | Podcast
    • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

      Miguel Villagra, MD | Tech
    • When errors of nature are treated as medical negligence

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • What’s driving medical students away from primary care?

      ​​Vineeth Amba, MPH, Archita Goyal, and Wayne Altman, MD | Education
    • A faster path to becoming a doctor is possible—here’s how

      Ankit Jain | Education
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

      Miguel Villagra, MD | Tech
    • Navigating fair market value as an independent or locum tenens physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Gaslighting and professional licensing: a call for reform

      Donald J. Murphy, MD | Physician
    • How self-improving AI systems are redefining intelligence and what it means for health care

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • How blockchain could rescue nursing home patients from deadly miscommunication

      Adwait Chafale | Tech
    • When service doesn’t mean another certification

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The achievement culture problem in our country
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...