All Articles by Brooke de Lench

The other day I was asked in a radio interview what I thought were the biggest recent developments in concussion safety, and what I saw happening in the near future to protect our kids from the dangers of brain injury in contact and collision sports.  Here are the five developments that I view as the most significant, and a seven-point "wish list" for what I hope to see in the not too distant future to make such sports even safer:

If you are anything like me, worrying about your kids' safety is woven deeply into the fabric of your DNA.  As the mom of  a football player, I know football moms are no exception. No matter how strong we may appear to be on the outside, worry is our constant companion, especially when it comes to injuries, like concussions.

So what's a mom to do? Live with it in anguish? Or do something about it?

More and more moms are choosing, like I have been for more than a decade, to be pro-active about their kids' safety in sports, and, in doing so are turning to an unlikely source - technology - to ease their fears.

If you have been following the subject of concussions in sports for any length of time, as I have for more than a decade, the question always seems to come up: do mouth guards prevent concussions?

The answer, at least to this point, seems to continue to be no, or, perhaps more precisely, we don't know. 

The blockbuster announcement came across my desk two days ago, but it took me a while to process its full significance.  In fact, it may take me a while longer to fully appreciate all of its implications for youth sports.

Dr. Bob Cantu, MomsTeam's first concussion expert from 2000-2008, and someone I have known and respected for more than a decade, is recommending that kids under the age of 14 not participate in collision sports as currently played.