It is crucial to have adult supervision and guidance when children participate in any organised sport. This could be provided by a parent, carer or trusted coach. It is recommended that you discuss with your child's sporting organisation to understand the specific arrangements for their club, and how training and games are supervised. 

This can help manage expectations and risks through rules and guidelines. Coaching staff should also be trained in accredited First Aid and CPR before the season starts. 

See Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for children (over 12 months) for more information. This fact sheet doesn't replace accredited training courses.

When starting a new sport, talk through some of the rules and expectations. This can help your child to: 

• understand the skills required to play the sport
• learn the appropriate behaviour
• develop good sportsmanship
• feel less overwhelmed in a new environment. 

When your child starts a new sport, it is important to find out what safety equipment is required or recommended. Safety equipment will help protect or minimise your child's risk from injuries.

For example:

• helmets for cycling or horse riding
• shinpads for soccer
• pad protection for cricket
• mouthguard and headgear for contact sport.

Once you find out what equipment your child needs, it is important to ensure that it is the right size for your child. Equipment that is too big, too small or faulty can be dangerous and increase the risk of injury.  

For example, you can check that your child has: 

• the correct dimensions for their age, for example a cricket bat or tennis racquet
• protective gear, such as pads that cover the right areas
• the correct shoes, for example studs for soccer or football. 

Speak with your child's coach or a sports store to find the right equipment for your child’s chosen sport. 

Different sports are played on different types of surfaces — for example, soccer is usually played on outdoor grass fields, while basketball is played indoors on wooden courts. Make sure that children are playing on the correct surface for their sport, equipment and gear. 

Before playing, coaches or parents should check the area for safety risks such as:  

• holes in the ground
• debris on the field
• broken equipment or goalposts 
• foreign objects, such as glass.

Sports coaches often bring years of experience and can provide valuable guidance to help children play safely and build their skills.  Their expertise allows them to give feedback and demonstrate correct techniques, which is especially important for children who are new to a sport. 

Using the right technique makes movements both easier and safer — for example, tackling on the correct side in rugby or striking a soccer ball with the right part of the foot.

Warm-ups are done before a game of sport to help prepare the body’s muscles, ligaments and tendons. It's important to perform dynamic stretches and gradually increase your heart rate to prevent injuries.  

Dynamic stretches are exercises where you move your muscles and joints through different motions. It can be useful not only to prevent physical injury, but also to help your child get mentally ready for play. 

Similarly, cooling down after a match can help aid recovery, and help lower your child's heart rate and breathing rate. It also helps to remove waste products from their muscles, such as lactic acid, which works to reduce muscle stiffness and soreness. 

When you know the coaching staff and officials, it’s much easier to approach them at training or games for feedback on how your child is going. This will help to support your child with safety, technique or ensuring they have the necessary equipment. 

Sprains or strains are the most common acute injuries in children’s sport. These can happen suddenly when a child falls incorrectly, or bumps into another player. 

Acute injuries can be managed through the RICER principle: 

• Rest- avoid activities which make the injury worse
• Ice- apply ice packs to the affected area several times a day 
• Compression - lightly wrap the area to reduce swelling
• Elevation- where possible, raise the injured area using pillows or cushions to reduce the swelling
• Referral to a doctor - if your child has sustained a serious injury, or is in persistent pain, seek help from your local doctor.  

The signs and symptoms of acute injuries are pain, swelling and redness around the site. 

See the Pain factsheet or Over the counter pain relief factsheet for more information. 

Overuse injuries are also known as repetitive motion injuries. These injuries happen when the load of sports and movement become overwhelming for the body. Examples of overuse injuries are:  

• stress fractures- small cracks or bruises in the bone 
• tendinopathy- damage or injury to a tendon. 

It is important to talk to your child often about how their body is feeling. If you suspect they are at risk of an overuse injury, book in to see a doctor or physiotherapist. 

As children grow, their body can develop at slightly different rates. This can make them susceptible to injury, especially during growth spurts. 

During these stages, bones tend to grow faster than tendons and muscles, causing pain and discomfort. This is most common during adolescence: 

• girls between the age of 10-13 years 
• boys between the age of 12-14 years. 

Examples of growth plate injuries include:  

• Severe’s disease in the heel
• Osgood-Schlatter's disease in the knee.  

If your child is experiencing pain in these regions, seek professional help from a doctor or physiotherapist.